Around 600 jobs at airline Bmi are at risk under a shake-up announced today.

The carrier, which said it employed around 1,000 people at its Castle Donington headquarters, has not said where in the country the posts will go.

However, hundreds of jobs are likely to be affected at Heathrow Airport, where the company employs the bulk of its total 4,500 staff in the UK.

The company has launched a three-month consultation with staff, but it said it could not rule out even further redundancies.

Bmi, which was taken over by German rival Lufthansa this year, blamed the cuts on the downturn in the airline industry amid the "worst recession since records began".

The airline will also be looking to suspend unprofitable routes under its plans, most of which will be at Heathrow. Services at East Midlands Airport would not be affected, the airline said.

It comes weeks after its low-cost arm Bmibaby, also based in Castle Donington, said it was looking to shed some 160 jobs around the country, some of which could be in Leicestershire.

A Bmi statement said: "Management has today commenced consultations with unions and staff representatives with a view to minimising the number of compulsory job losses wherever possible.

"Lufthansa has given Bmi its full support for the actions it is undertaking in this restructuring programme.

"Once stabilised, the business can then be grown again in the years ahead when the economic environment improves and market demand justifies it."