VIENNA, Sept 10, 2008 (AFP) - Austrian jeweller Swarovski said Wednesday , September 10th it will axe a further 290 jobs by the end of this year, on top of the 447 already gone in face of the worldwide economic slump.

Pedestrians walk in front of a Swarovski shop in central Tokyo. Photo : AFP

The additional cuts mean the family-owned firm has cut the workforce at its main production site in Wattens by more than 10 percent this year to around 6,000, Swarovski said in a statement.

The reason for the downsizing, which will be implemented without compulsory redundancies, is "the current global economic climate which is characterised by recessive developments, inflation and the continued weakness of the dollar," it said.

Swarovski is present in around 120 countries, has a network of 1,300 retail outlets worldwide and annual sales of 2.56 billion euros (3.6 billion dollars).