Vienna  - Crystal-maker Swarovski on Thursday announced plans to cut 280 jobs at its headquarters in Wattens, western Austria, owing to an increasingly difficult market environment.

In a written statement, the company said it is trying to avoid layoffs by not filling vacant positions or offering jobs in the group's other subsidiaries.

At the same time 120 million euros (184.2 million dollars) will be "strategically invested" at Wattens to bolster the family-owned company's market leadership in the crystal business.

For 2008, the company expected increasing global crystal sales to more than 2 billion euros, despite having reduced sales forecasts by 5 per cent for this year.

Swarovski said it was affected by weak consumption in the United States, rising prices for crystal components due to the weak dollar and competition from low-wage countries.

In 2007, the group, which employs 22,000 people worldwide increased sales to 2.56 billion euros. The Swarovski group also includes optical products and Tyrolit, a producer of grinding machinery. (dpa)