Cummins, the worldwide power generation company, has confirmed it is to cut up to 30 jobs at its plant in East Kent.

The move is part of a move to reduce the worldwide workforce by 800.

The business blamed the global economic downturn for the decision which will hit up to five per cent of the 600-strong workforce at Cummins Power Generation’s plant at Manston Park, near Ramsgate.

The firm said that between 20 and 30 jobs will go and was seeking volunteers for redundancy, but confirmed it would then implement "involuntary redundancies."

The Manston plant has grown rapidly in recent years, with strong global demand for power generation. But the worldwide downturn has hit sales, leading to the latest round of job cuts.

Local management had "progressed through numerous cost reduction measures but now finds it necessary to consider redundancies within the workforce," it said in a statement. "Employees within specific segments of the business are being offered voluntary severance prior to the company implementing involuntary redundancies. It is estimated that the actions will impact between 20-30 positions locally."

In a statement by the US parent company, Cummins Inc said the cuts would be achieved by voluntary retirement, with the remained "resulting from involuntary terminations from Cummins’ operations around the world."

This is the second round of cuts that has seen Cummins' workforce reduced by 1,400 - 10 per cent. Cummins, based in Columbus, Indiana, also said it would cut executive salaries, freeze other salaries and and monitor production volumes at manufacturing plants.

Speaking after Cummins made its worldwide announcement, Tim Solso, chairman and chief executive officer, said: "It is unfortunate that after five straight years of record performance and greatly improved business fundamentals we are being forced to take these difficult actions.

"While these steps are very painful, they are necessary to keep Cummins competitive through this global recession so we can emerge a stronger company when the economy and our markets recover.

"It is our expectation that these workforce reductions will align our cost structure with our projected business levels, and allow us to meet customer requirements and preserve our ability to invest for the future."

Cummins serves customers in 190 countries and reported sales of more than £8 billion in 2007.