ZURICH - SWISS chemicals group Clariant will cut about another 500 jobs worldwide by the end of the year, a spokesman for the company said on Monday.
'We will carry out 500 job cuts, these measures have immediate effect,' the spokesman said.
'The economic crisis is leading to a collapse in demand in the chemicals industry,' he added.
About 200 of the job cuts will affect Clariant sites in Europe, including 70 posts in Germany and 40 in Switzerland, he said.
More restructuring measures were 'probable' by next year, he added.
The group recorded a loss of 37 million Swiss francs (S$51 million) in 2008 and said it would not return to profit until 2011.
It made a further 91 million franc loss in the first quarter of 2009.
Clariant said in February that restructuring needed to accelerate, a month after announcing 1,350 job cuts.
The Swiss group employs about 20,000 people worldwide, according to its website. -- AFP
