UPDATE 1-RF Micro posts Q4 net loss; to cut 9 pct jobs

(Recasts, adds details, share movement)

BANGALORE, May 6 (Reuters) - RF Micro Devices Inc (RFMD.O), which makes chips for mobile phones, posted a fourth-quarter net loss on higher expenses, and said it would cut about 9 percent of its global workforce and take a related charge.

The company said it is cutting investments in wireless systems, including cellular transceivers and global positioning systems solutions, and expects to eliminate about $75 million in annual expenses.

RF Micro said it would cut its workforce by about 350 employees and expects to take a restructuring charge of about $40 million to $50 million.

RF Micro currently has 4,000 employees, a company spokesman said in an e-mail.

The company posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $16.5 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with net income of $30.1 million, or 14 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 14 percent to $221.9 million, meeting analysts' expectations.

Total costs and expenses rose 8 percent to $253.5 million.

Excluding stock-based compensation expenses and other items, the company earned 1 cent a share. On that basis, analysts expected earnings of 1 cent a share, according to Reuters Estimates.