PARIS, April 22, 2009 (AFP) - The French comsumer products group Bic announced Wednesday it would slash 600 jobs worldwide, mainly in the United States and southern Europe.

The cuts amount to seven percent of the company's workforce.

"The reduction of the workforce should be of around 600 people," investor relations director Sophie Palliez-Capian said in a telephone news conference.

The company does not plan to cut jobs in France, she said. Employees will be offered voluntary departure plans in the United States and southern Europe.

The company, which makes throwaway consumer items such as ballpoint pens, razors and cigarette lighters, employs more than 8,300 people including 3,800 in Europe and 1,800 in North America and Oceania.

Bic has launched a cost reduction plan aimed at saving 30 million euros ($58.5 million) a year from 2010.