MADRID, July 15, 2008 (AFP) - Spain's Roca, one of the world's largest producers of bathroom ceramics, said Tuesday it would slash 400 jobs out of about 2,500 in Spain due to the sharp downturn in the property sector.

'It's under ngotiations. It's due to the crisis which is reducing demand,' a company spokeswoman told AFP, confirming press reports.

The Barcelona-based company, which produces wall and floor tiles, bathtubs and toilets, has factories around the world including in Austria, China, Poland and Portugal but all the job cuts will be in Spain, she added.

Spain's building sector, which has driven its economic growth and job creation over the past decade, has been badly hit by rising interest rates, oversupply and the international credit crunch.

The country built more than 700,000 houses in 2006 -- more than Britian, Germany and France combined -- and investment in housing accounted for nearly 10 percent of output, more than twice the eurozone average, according to government figures.

But many industry analysts expect Spain to build fewer than 300,000 houses this year.