The software company, Netscape Communications, has said it is closing some operations and cutting jobs.

The measures follow a warning of a fourth-quarter loss of up to $89 million.

The company behind the Internet browser, Netscape Navigator, did not disclose how many jobs would be going.

It said the cuts were designed to help it concentrate on software development.

"We plan to streamline our business to focus on key enterprise market opportunities and eliminate unrelated expenses," said Netscape's president, Jim Barksdale.

Navigator is the leading Internet browser. But its share of the market has been gradually eroded by Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Netscape now has around 60% of the market in the United States.

The company, based in Mountain View, California, said the loss of $85m to $89 million, or 88 cents to 92 cents a share, was partly due to unexpectedly slow growth.

Netscape said it expected to post revenue of $125m to $130m in the fourth quarter, up from $115 million in the same period of 1996.

The company said growth was held down by competitive pressures, slower than expected development of new products and regional economic conditions in Asia.

Netscape said the fourth-quarter loss will include $35m to account for the restructuring and $52m in charges related to its acquisition of Actra Corporation and Kiva Software.

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