National Semiconductor said last night that it was axing 60 jobs at its Greenock plant only a few weeks after reporting a 42% rise in profits for the latest financial year.

The computer-chip maker said it was cutting its Scottish staff after conducting a "worldwide review" of its operations.

"Following this review, National is now investing in new, more technically advanced tools and processes to deliver higher-value, high performance products.

"This will provide us with the competitive edge needed to strengthen our place in the market and ensure we are able to continue to invest in new skills, tools and materials that will make National a viable business long into the future.

"The immediate decision will be the requirement for a restructuring of the Greenock facility and we have identified approximately 60 positions as being potentially redundant."

The jobs losses will bring staff at the Greenock factory down to 404 from 464.

The company said has begun a 30-day consultation period with its employees.

NatSemi is looking for volunteers who want to leave and will provide them with severance package "above the statutory minimum".

The firm described the future of the Greenock plant, which was set up in 1970, as "strong" and promised to continue investing in it although it appears to have shelved plans for a big expansion.

The factory's products include analogue silicon chips, which play a key role in manipulating data and in maximising the efficiency of batteries in digital devices like MP3 music players.

The latest accounts for NatSemi, filed at Companies House, show that the subsidiary reaped the rewards of a decision to focus on higher-margin products in the 52 weeks ended May 27, 2007.

Helped by a £1.3m credit in respect of the costs of operating the company's closed defined benefit scheme, pre-tax profits surged by 42% to £15.5m in the latest financial year. This represented a significant acceleration in earnings growth compared with the previous year, when NatSemi UK increased pre-tax profits by 7%, largely thanks to cost-cutting.