VW's MAN to cut 1,400 jobs at diesel-engine unit

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's MAN SE plans to cut 1,400 jobs at its diesel-engine operations, aiming to increase savings by more than 450 million euros ($500 million).

The restructuring plan includes streamlining internal processes, cutting costs in development, distribution and other areas and promoting strategy and portfolio development, it said on Friday.

Orders for new turbo engines may stay at current low levels for years to come, Chief Executive Uwe Lauber said, citing external factors which he did not specify.

"For this reason, we need to prepare ourselves and increase our flexibility and efficiency even further," the CEO said.

MAN's core truckmaking business last year announced 1,800 job cuts as part of a broader reshuffle of production in Europe, spurred by parent Volkswagen's goal to align heavy-truck brands MAN and Scania more closely.

Augsburg-based MAN Diesel & Turbo said it wants a site in Hamburg to focus on service and after-sales, and facilities in Oberhausen and Bengaluru to handle production of steam turbines. A plant in Berlin will in future make components for turbomachinery, it said.

($1 = 0.8925 euros)

(Reporting by Tina Bellon; Additional reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)