UPDATE 1-Kuwait's Zain plans 2,000 job cuts to 2011

* Could boost operating margins by 5 pct

* Has started cuts in Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malawi

(Adds details, background)

KUWAIT, May 4 (Reuters) - Kuwaiti mobile operator Mobile Telecommunications Co (ZAIN.KW) (Zain) will cut its 15,500 workforce by about 2,000 staff through to 2011 to cut costs and boost its margin, the firm said on Monday.

Many of the 2,000 would continue working for Zain as outsourced contractors, a company spokesman added.

Kuwait's biggest mobile operator, which has been spending billions to expand to 23 countries in the Middle East and Africa, said job cuts were part of a revamp that includes outsourcing work, adding that the cuts will affect all units.

"Zain operations in Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malawi and Sierra Leone have already begun the process," Zain said in a statement. The measures would improve its operating margin by 5 percent within 12 months, it said without elaborating.

Zain said in March it would cut 141 jobs in Kenya as part of a pre-planned restructuring.

Kuwait's biggest mobile operator said it is targeting 150 million customers and $6 billion in earnings before interest, tax, amortisation and depreciation (EBITDA) in 2011. For 2009 the company has previously targeted EBITA of $4.7 billion.

Last month, the firm said it was in advanced talks with banks to arrange a new loan to refinance a $2.5 billion Islamic loan it signed in 2007, which is due to expire on July 27.

(Reporting by Eman Goma and Ulf Laessing; Editing by David Cowell)