Bonn, Germany  - German mail delivery giant Deutsche Post AG said Monday it was slashing the workforce at its US DHL operations by a further 9,500 after forecasting the express delivery offshoot would post a full-year 1.5 billion dollars loss.

Deutsche Post's job cut plans will reduce DHL Express' 18,400 US workforce to about 3,500 with the American express postal delivery company hit by the rapid deterioration in the US economy following the world financial crisis.

Monday's announcement follows the 5,400 jobs which Deutsche Post cut at DHL US Express earlier this year with the moves to slash the workforce coming about six years after the Bonn-based postal services group acquired DHL.

"This is the right move for our US Express operations given the current economic climate," said John Mullen, Deutsche Post Board member responsible for DHL Express.

Deutsche Post's 3-billion-euro (3.9-billion-dollar) two-year restructuring plan also includes closing down DHL's national ground hubs in the US and cutting its total number of stations in the country to 103 from 412.

The group now plans to tailor DHL's remaining workforce to meet the needs of the company's international express service customers.

As a result of the restructuring measures, Deutsche Post said losses at the DHL US Express business would now likely amount to 1.5 billion dollars in 2008.

The announcement of the shakeout in its US business resulted in Deutsche Post's shares racing ahead by 8.6 per cent to 10.16 euros in afternoon trading in Europe.

Despite the problems it faced in the US, Deutsche Post booked a 1.3 per cent rise in nine month profit before interest and taxes to 1.6 billion euros. Revenue rose 2.3 per cent to 40.5 billion euros.

About 70 per cent of Deutsche Post's revenue was generated outside its domestic German market during the first nine months of the year.