Jobs at two Sussex centres were in jeopardy today after mobile phone giant Ericsson announced poor financial results.

The firm is to cut up to 17,000 jobs worldwide after making a loss of more than £200 million in the first three months of 2002.

It employs about 300 people at its European headquarters in Burgess Hill and a further 40 in offices in Trafalgar Place, Brighton.

Bosses could not say how many jobs would be lost at the two sites.

Paula Wagstaff, corporate communications director at Burgess Hill, said: "We don't know the impact yet.

"We have been doing an on-going efficiency programme and I am sure we will be affected in some way but I would not like to say.

"Our voluntary severance programme is probably going to open today as the market is still pretty down."

Ms Wagstaff said the global efficiency programme was designed to reduce costs because of slower growth in the global economy.

She said: "We will concentrate our operations on our core business, supporting our systems and sales in fixed and mobile infrastructure to UK operators."

Gill Balsdon, chairman of Burgess Hill Town Council, said: "We are very concerned when job opportunities are lost because it has a knock-on effect in the rest of the town.

"They do employ a lot of people from outside the area but it is bound to have an effect because people who work there come into the town at lunchtime and use the facilities.

"Anyone who lives in Burgess Hill and loses their job might consider moving away."

Ericsson said its return to profitability had been delayed by the continuing weak conditions in the global mobile infrastructure market.

It now expects wireless industry sales to be down more than 10 per cent this year.

Ericsson, which has operations in 140 countries, reduced its work force from 107,000 to 85,000 last year as it began a major restructuring effort.

It recorded its first annual loss of almost £1.4 billion in 2001.