Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson announced Friday it was cutting 2,000 jobs worldwide after reporting a 97 percent drop in second quarter earnings due to difficult market conditions and the global economic slowdown.

Company spokeswoman Lisa Canning in London said the company would cut 2,000 jobs "within the next 12 months" as part of an effort to reduce operational costs by 300 million euros ($470 million) per year.

Sony Ericsson posted an operating loss of two million euros ($3.1 million) in the second quarter, compared to a profit of 315 million euros in the same period of last year.

Net profit plunged by 97 percent to six million euros from 220 million a year earlier, while sales fell by 9.4 percent to 2.82 billion euros.

For the past year, Sony Ericsson has been trying to develop its business on fast-growing emerging markets in order to reduce dependence on its traditional, near-saturation European outlets.

As a result it has sold more low-end phones, where prices are lower and the competition is tougher than in the high-end segment, the company said.

Sony Ericsson's results were in stark contrast to the better-than-expected earnings report by market leader Nokia on Thursday. Nokia said it expected the global market for cell phones to grow by 10 percent or more in 2008, upgrading an earlier estimate.

At the end of June, Sony Ericsson had eight percent of the mobile phone market, compared to Nokia's 40 percent.

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