Workers at Sun Microsystems’ offices in Linlithgow in Scotland are expected to be hit after the technology group confirmed plans to cut 1,500 jobs from its global workforce.

A spokesman for Sun said: “We can confirm today that layoff notifications will be given to approximately 1,500 Sun employees across the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. As part of that effort, every part of the company's staffing infrastructure was evaluated and today's reductions cross all levels, including vice presidents and directors.”

The spokesman could not immediately say how many of Sun's 800 workers in Scotland would be affected. Sun made the statement after Times Online requested clarification on whether UK jobs would be hit after sources suggested lay-offs had already happened in Linlithgow.

The move comes as Sun continues to battle against fierce competition. The company has already laid off nearly 4,000 workers since June 2006 in a bid to increase margins, and had set aside up to $150 million to pay for more cuts this year.

Sun has about 34,500 employees, according to a earnings report in April.

In August, Sun, which specializes in large-scale servers for big companies, announced a restructuring plan designed “to better align the company's resources with its strategic business objectives.”

It added today: “As part of that plan, Sun is investing to grow by moving dollars to projects and products that yield the greatest return to Sun.

“In an effort to reduce operating expenses in 2008, groups across Sun are taking a number of steps to meet their goals, such as cutting program dollars, and in some cases, reducing headcount.”

Separately, it emerged that AOL, the internet business owned by America's Time Warner, is set to cut a fifth of its workforce in Europe and the US to help bolster online advertising.

Some 2,000 AOL staff are set to lose their jobs with the process due to begin tomorrow, an AOL spokeswoman confirmed. The move will allow AOL to plough more investment into advertising.

The cuts will include about 1,200 job losses in the US, including 750 in northern Virginia, which has long been AOL’s headquarters.

AOL recently announced it was moving its headquarters to New York to be closer to the media advertising industry.

Earlier this month, Bank of America analyst, Jonathan Jacoby, said that while Time Warner is focusing on reducing expenses and improving operations at AOL, it may consider selling the business or floating the business.

Last year the company cut 5,000 jobs, following the decision, in August 2006, that AOL would make services once provided for a fee, such as e-mail, free in an effort to boost traffic and raise advertising revenues.

At Time Warner, Dick Parsons, the company's chairman and chief executive, is expected to step down next year when his contract expires in May 2008. It is predicted that Jeff Bewkes, chief operating officer at Time Warner, will replace the current incumbent.

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