Voluntary redundancies are being sought at Sussex-based mobile phone giant Ericsson.

A spokesperson at the company's head office in Burgess Hill, where 500 people work, said: "We have opened our voluntary severance scheme to all staff at our eight sites across the UK."

The Swedish telecoms manufacturer could not say whether compulsory job cuts might follow.

The spokesperson said: "We have had voluntary severances before and they have worked very well.

"With redeployment and early retirements, we are hoping to manage the redundancies equally successfully.

"It is a tough market and all telecom companies are having a hard time."

The job cuts come in the wake of a sharp downturn in the mobile telecommunications market after years of boom.

Worldwide, telecoms companies have suffered even more following the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Earlier this year, Ericsson began a review of its UK operation and later closed two factories, one in Scunthorpe.

In April, the company said its Burgess Hill operation, which includes sales, marketing, and software development, was unlikely to shut.