Weir Group has announced plans to cut a further 400 jobs amid ongoing tough trading conditions in the oil and gas and minerals markets.

The engineering company said the bulk of the roles will be in North America, Africa and China.

Order input for the third quarter of the year was down 29 per cent year-on-year and eight per cent from the previous three months.

Keith Cochrane, chief executive, said: "The challenges in our end markets intensified during September and October.

“Looking ahead, we expect trading conditions to remain challenging through the fourth quarter with further declines in upstream oil and gas activity.

“We will focus on delivering further cost and procurement savings, alongside strong cash generation.”