Electronics firm Philips is set to make 4,500 people redundant as part of a cost-cutting programme which aims to save the company €800m.
Philips says 1,400 of these jobs are in the Netherlands, but has not confirmed where the remaining redundancies will be made. The company has several offices and manufacturing sites in the UK.

Ceo Frans van Houten called the move "a regrettable but inevitable step... to become more agile, lean and competitive", as the company saw net profit decline 85% to €76m in its third quarter.

EBITA declined by €279m to represent 6.8% of sales, which grew by 6%, partly driven by growth in lighting.

Lighting sales were 8% higher year-on-year, driven by double-digit sales growth in lamps and professional luminaries, partly offset by a sales decrease in the Lumileds business and consumer luminaries. LED-based sales grew 32% compared with Q3 2010, and now represent 15% of all lighting sales at the company.