Electronics giant Philips is planning to cut a further 400 jobs at its production site in the Frisian town of Drachten, of which 200 are permanent positions.

The job cuts have been prompted by a decision to shift the production of baby bottles and other domestic apparatus to Indonesia and an external supplier, the company said on Wednesday. The move is part of efforts to make the company more competitive, a spokesman said.

Philips currently employs 1,700 people in Drachten, and will continue to produce electric toothbrushes and shavers at the factory.

The decision still needs to be approved by the works council. Philips is not ruling out forced redundancies but says it hopes the jobs can go naturally by the deadline of 2027.

Trade union federation FNV said the decision is a blow to the local economy. “Philips is opting to export jobs to Indonesia and China and leave hundreds of households here in the cold,” a spokesman told local broadcaster RTV Noord.