Flextronics to cut 10,000 jobs

Flextronics is cutting 10,000 jobs - 15% of the workforce.

The company, which has an Irish operation, announced the cuts as it announced a net loss for its third quarter of $329.8m.

Last year it made profits of $49.9m in the same quarter.

The job cuts will be in high cost centres that it doesn't plan to use again.

Flextronics is a US electronics firm based in Singapore, which builds products such as Microsofts' Xbox video game console.

Michael E Marks, chairman and chief executive of Flextronics, says: "While we believe the pipeline of new opportunities remains robust, we continue to plan our operations as though no new business will come our way."

As well as the job cuts, the company plans to close 20% of its factory space.

Mr Marks adds: "We believe all these restructuring charges are behind us. The current plan will allow us to remain profitable and competitive in a very tough market while positioning us for improvement as opportunities arise."