KRAFT Foods said it could not rule out job losses in the UK after the company announced that 6,000 staff would be cut worldwide.

The company said 1,300 salaried positions in North America would go first, with the remaining cuts spread over the next three years.

It follows more than a year of disappointing sales and earnings for the biggest food company in the US.

The announcement will cause concern at Kraft's York site, where 380 staff are employed producing Terry's branded chocolate, mainly Terry's Chocolate Orange.

Kraft Foods UK said that a decision on job cuts in Britain would be taken after a detailed examination of the situation.

Kraft employs 49,000 staff outside North America. In the UK it also has plants in Banbury, Bridgend and its headquarters in Cheltenham.