NEW YORK - SWISS chip maker STMicroelectronics NV said on Tuesday it is cutting about 4,500 jobs worldwide after it posted a fourth-quarter net loss on Tuesday, reversing a year-ago profit as revenue slipped amid the global economic turmoil.

The job cuts represent about 9 per cent of the Geneva-based company's work force.

The company posted a loss of US$366 million (S$550 million), or 42 cents per share, down from a profit of US$20 million or 2 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue fell 17 per cent to US$2.28 billion from US$2.74 billion.

Excluding restructuring and impairment charges and other items, the quarter's net loss totaled 6 cents per share.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a profit of 3 cents per share on sales of US$2.23 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters. Analysts typically exclude one-time items from their estimates.

STMicro said all product areas were hurt by the downturn, especially the automotive, wireless and computer peripherals markets.

For the full year, the company posted a net loss of US$786 million, or 88 cents per share, compared with a loss of US$477 million, or 53 cents per share, a year earlier.

Sales slid less than 2 per cent to US$9.84 billion from US$10 billion.

Looking ahead, STMicro said it is targeting first-quarter sales of US$1.5 billion to US$1.85 billion. Analysts are predicting US$2.06 billion. The company did not provide a forecast for earnings per share.

The company said it plans to reduce costs by more than US$700 million in 2009.

Based on the company's 52,180 employees according to CapitalIQ, the job cuts represent about 9 per cent of STMicro's global work force.

Shares slid 12 cents, or 2.1 percent, to US$5.51 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed up 14 cents at US$5.63. -- AP