DEBT-LADEN cable group NTL is to slash its workforce by up to 4,000 in a bid to claw back costs, the company said today.

NTL, based in Hook in Hampshire, has a substantial base near Stockton on Teesside.

It employs 17,000 but wants to reduce that to 13,000.

The cuts 'a mixture of voluntary and compulsory redundancies' will affect all employees across the UK although call centre staff will be exempt.

NTL has already removed 4,800 jobs this year 'it wanted to cut staff numbers to 17,000 by the end of this year and 15,000 by the end of 2002.

But a spokeswoman said today it was "accelerating and deepening" the original plan.

She said: "We've been focused on controlling our costs. We have also been highly acquisitive, buying 13 companies in two years, and all this is part and parcel of that integration."

But chief executive Barclay Knapp conceded that the tough economic climate had also played a role, calling the measures ''prudent''.

Chief operating officer Stephen Carter added: "Difficult times mean difficult decisions and in the UK we are determined to continue to drive down costs and improve customer service."

NTL supplies homes and business with television, telephone and internet access as well as providing network infrastructure for mobile phones through its broadcast arm.

The home division is the largest part of the group with sites in Glasgow, Belfast, Swansea, Manchester, Winnersh near Reading, Nottingham, Luton, Cambridge, Hook and London as well as on Teesside.

NTL's workforce includes sales and marketing staff, project managers, engineers and call centre workers.

Talks with staff and unions got under way this morning.