One of Sussex's biggest employers has announced it is pulling out of the county.

Swedish-owned mobile phone company Ericsson, which has its European corporate headquarters in Burgess Hill, is relocating to Guildford in Surrey.

The move will take place by the end of the year and will affect all 370 staff at the site.

A spokeswoman for the company said the relocation was part of an efficiency drive.

The company is one of the biggest employers in Burgess Hill.

Tony Balsdon, West Sussex county councillor for Burgess Hill East, said: "Ericsson's presence in the town has been invaluable and crucial to the local economy.

"I know a lot of people are going to be devastated by this news.

"I just hope another company will realise how desirable Burgess Hill is and decide to take up where Ericsson has left off."

Like many of its rivals, the mobile phone conglomerate has been hit by falling demand for telecoms equipment and is in the middle of a big cost-cutting exercise.

At the weekend the company announced it was aiming to reduce its workforce by 4,000 by the end of this year.

At the company's annual general meeting, outgoing president and chief executive Kurt Hellstrom said the firm planned to reduce its operating expenses by £3.77 billion to £2.87 billion by the end of 2003 and warned the company was aiming to get its headcount below 60,000.

Mr Hellstrom said: "We have created an Ericsson that is more flexible and that can quickly adapt to changing market conditions.

"And this has only been possible thanks to the loyalty and understanding of our employees.

"I have met many employees who have lost their jobs and who, because of their deep belief in the strength of our industry and our company, regret they cannot remain in the company."

Shares in Ericsson jumped after the firm unveiled Carl-Henric Svanberg as its new president and chief executive in February.

Mr Svanberg said Ericsson could return to profitability despite the worldwide slowdown in the industry.

He said: "We must return to profitability as quickly as possible.

"It is the only way you can control your destiny.

"We have a number of forceful measures everyone knows about and that we're working on."

Mr Svanberg said the company, which has mounted up losses of £3.02 billion since the beginning of 2001, expected to get back into profit this year.

He said it needed to expand its vision while continuing to focus on technology leadership, globalisation and the development of world-class processes.

Monday April 14 2003