Vienna - Austrian steelmaker voestalpine AG announced Wednesday it would reduce the working hours of around 4,000 workers, reacting to the global economic downturn.

In the coming months, some 10 per cent of voestalpine's total workforce of around 42,000 will be affected, mostly in Austria, but also in Germany and the Netherlands.

These workers would receive up to 10 per cent less pay, the company said in a statement.

In the current economic climate, everyone would have to make sacrifices said voestalpine's chief executive Wolfgang Eder.

"That is the only way to reach our ultimate goal of avoiding large-scale redundancies based on the business situation," Eder said.

In addition to this measure, voestalpine has started to reduce the number of its temporary staff and lowered its production by 150,000 tons during the Christmas holidays.

In December, the steelmaker put on hold a decision to build a steel factory on the Black Sea indefinitely.

Voestalpine is the world's largest producer of steels used in tools and rails. The company made a net profit of 752 million euros (998 million dollars) in the 2007/08 business year ending last March. (dpa)