Jobs at FLS Aerospace in Dublin are at risk following a profit warning by the parent of the former TEAM Aer Lingus.

Danish conglomerate FLS Industries told the Copenhagen Stock Exchange yesterday that the slowdown in the global aviation business after the attacks on the US on September 11th had prompted a fall in sales at the aircraft maintenance subsidiary, leading it to cut capacity.

A spokeswoman would not comment on the threat to jobs in Dublin airport, where FLS employs 1,600 people, but said employment needs would be assessed in a review that was already under way.

Only when that review was completed in the "coming weeks" would the company enter dialogue with its trade unions, she said.

The financial position of FLS Aerospace was not clear from yesterday's statement. It said that changed market conditions and restructuring expenses would reduce its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by the equivalent of $48.41 million (€53.6 million).

The company gave no indication, however, of the full-year EBIT figure it projected in advance of that reduction. Citing stock market "limitations", the spokeswoman said she was not at liberty to reveal such projections.

She said FLS Aerospace reported pre-tax earnings of about $14 million for the first half of the year and added that third quarter earnings were also positive.

No official from SIPTU, which represents many of the company's staff, was available to comment on the statement.

The development is the latest in a series of setbacks for FLS Aerospace, whose return to profits followed a drastic turnaround process last year after it incurred large losses. Acquired by FLS Industries from Aer Lingus in 1998, the troubled company was put on the market by its parent earlier this year.

While US group United Technologies was poised to purchase FLS Aerospace this summer, it abandoned the plans in the wake of the attacks on September 11th.

First indications that difficulties were ahead emerged just days after the attacks when Virgin Atlantic said it did not require FLS to carry out maintenance work on five aircraft.

Those familiar with the company believe more significant risk surrounds the company's reliance on business from Aer Lingus, which has cut capacity by a quarter and is seeking 2,000 redundancies.