THIRTY more jobs are likely to go at high-tech company Oxford Instruments, on top of 50 redundancies announced in November.

Chief executive Jonathan Flint said jobs would go in the Molecular Biotools division, which had been hit by cutbacks in pharmaceutical companies’ budgets.

Three years ago, the company launched a new machine called HyperSense, which allows scientists to determine the structure of molecules, helping speed up discovery of drugs for diseases such as cancer. Each HyperSense costs about £250,000 and takes about four months to make.

Three were ordered before the launch, but Mr Flint said orders had now dried up.

“Sales for that and other tools will be on hold. The instrument was very well received and there’s still huge interest, but no one is prepared to make the capital investment.”

A 30-day consultation period over the planned job losses starts today, and Mr Flint said the company was offering payments above the legal minimum as an incentive to employees to volunteer for redundancy.

He added: “Demand for fundamental research products is down already and, like everyone else, we are concerned about the next 12 months.”

However, the company, which exports 90 per cent of its products, has benefited from the falling pound and said revenues were higher than the same time last year.

It has responded to the downturn in future orders with £11.4m of cost-cutting measures, reducing its 1,560-strong global workforce by 15 per cent, shutting its site in Chicago and moving its operations to other sites in the US and to China.

A plant in Denmark will also close, with operations moving to High Wycombe.

The restructuring has so far cost £1.7m with another £1.8m to be spent this year and £1.9m in the year to March 2011.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, chairman Nigel Keen said: “We are acting decisively in response to the downturn in industrial markets and in anticipation of difficult conditions ahead.

“Our reduced cost base and more efficient operating structure should mitigate the impact on profits if we suffer a decline in revenues.

“This, together with the expected positive effects of the current level of sterling, means that the business is well positioned during the downturn and will benefit swiftly from a future strengthening of demand.”