The job cuts come on top of the 700 positions ICI said it was shedding earlier this year.

The company posted a 75% fall in post-exceptional profits to �47m for the first half of the year.

ICI said it hoped to achieve most of the cuts through natural wastage and voluntary redundancy, but said it could not rule out compulsory job losses.

'Hammer blow'

The firm currently employs about 36,600 jobs worldwide, 5,000 of which are in the UK.

Profits remain disappointing overall, and the economic outlook remains uncertain John McAdam, ICI chief executive

The job cuts are expected to affect all parts of the business including head office functions.

Joint general secretary of the Amicus union, Roger Lyons, said the redundancies were a "hammer blow" for manufacturing.

"For a country that has produced so much oil and gas it is a strategic failure that we have not been able to convert that into securing manufacturing jobs."

'Uncertain' outlook

ICI is the maker of Dulux paint

ICI said its performance had picked up during the April to June quarter, but that profit levels were still unsatisfactory.

"Profits remain disappointing overall, and the economic outlook remains uncertain," said chief executive John McAdam.

"Action is therefore required to further reduce costs."

ICI said the restructuring programme that it began this year should lead to annual cost savings of �100m by 2005.

Pre-tax profits before exceptional items and goodwill were �150m for the half-year, down from �191m the previous year.

Despite the fall, the profit figure was better than expected and investors sent ICI shares up 22% to 171.25p.

Government aid

As ICI was announcing more job cuts and falling profits, the government unveiled a �50m aid package aimed at helping to secure thousands of jobs at a factory partly owned by the firm.

The money is to help modernise the Ineos Chlor plant at Runcorn on Merseyside and make it more environmentally friendly.

The Department of Trade & Industry said the investment would protect more than 2,000 jobs at the factory, which is 15% owned by ICI.

It added that a further 8,000 jobs in firms which depend on the Runcorn plant would also be safeguarded.