More than 500 people employed by telecoms manufacturer Ericsson in Sussex are waiting to hear if they will keep their jobs.

However the Swedish phone giant is unlikely to close its UK headquarters in Burgess Hill.

The cuts are part of a worldwide restructuring exercise.

Ericsson plans to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide out of a workforce of 100,000.

The news comes after a sharp slowdown in the market for mobile phones.

An Ericsson spokeswoman said the Burgess Hill headquarters, in Charles Avenue, was unlikely to shut but it was too early to say whether jobs there would be lost.

She said the company had begun a review of its UK operation in February, which was likely to be accelerated by today's announcement.

She said: "We are reviewing the measures following the announcement today but it is too early to say the extent of the job losses."

Burgess Hill houses sales and marketing departments, as well as software development for fixed and mobile phone networks.

Ericsson announced last month it intended to shed 1,200 jobs by closing two factories elsewhere in the UK.

The company said sales worldwide had fallen by five per cent and were unlikely to pick-up during the year.

Earlier this week Hove-based Hosiden Besson, which manufactures handset accessories, announced it intended to make up to a third of its workforce redundant.