New York, Nov 4 (DPA) US consumer goods and pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it would cut around 8,000 jobs in a bid to trim costs in the wake of the recession.

The lay-offs amount to some 6 percent to 7 percent of the company's employees.

They are designed to save some $1.7 billion by 2011, the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company said. One-time costs of up to $1.3 billion will fall in the current quarter.