As a result of weaker demand in many local markets, Daimler Trucks plans to slash more positions in North America. The company confirmed Tuesday it would cut an additional 1,240 jobs in the US and Mexico.

Daimler said regional demand for heavy-duty trucks was expected to drop by 15 percent to 425,000 units this year, following brisk business in 2015.

The Stuttgart-based vehicle maker said its Mount Holly factory in North Carolina would be hit hardest by the cuts, with another 600 employees to be laid off there as of July 1, after 600 workers already had to go in February.

Revised forecast

Two hundred employees would be laid off in Gastonia, North Carolina, and another 170 at Daimler's biggest truck facility in the US in Portland, Oregon, while 270 jobs would be slashed in Santiago, Mexico, Daimler reported.

The truck maker said demand had been slowing tangibly not only in North America, but also in Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey, prompting it to revise down its full-year profit forecast.

Only a year ago, Daimler Trucks logged a record operating profit of 2.7 billion euros ($3.1 billion), selling a total of 502,500 units globally.

hg/cjc (Reuters, dpa)