The job cuts will reduce the company's workforce to 2,300, a level not seen since the Channel Tunnel opened in 1994.

After more than a year's negotiation with unions, the company said last night that 900 French and British employees would leave on voluntary terms. The redundancies will be split equally between Britain and France.

In a statement last night the company said that the staff reduction would have no impact on safety or quality of service.

Most of the 900 departures will have been completed by Christmas, a spokeswoman for the company said, with the remainder leaving by next June.

Jacques Gounon, chairman and chief executive of Eurotunnel, said: "We need a company that is more flexible, more reactive to our markets, and more in tune to the needs of our clients."

Lower staffing levels are possible because of the company's shift to a new business model, copied from the budget airline industry. The earlier passengers book space on Eurotunnel's shuttles, the less they pay.

The new model has allowed the company to remove unprofitable services and run shuttles that are closer to full. A Eurotunnel spokesman said that it was now running its Channel Tunnel shuttle service with a smaller fleet of trains.

However, the company has also had to agree to pay those workers who are not leaving a £2,000 bonus to avert industrial action. Maintenance and operations staff walked out in France last week.

On Wednesday Eurotunnel announced falls in traffic in a number of key markets as the company prepared to update shareholders on progress on restructuring its £6.1 billion debt.

The number of lorries carried on the company's cross-Channel freight shuttles fell by 2 per cent in the three months to September 30, according to a trading update. The number of cars carried on the car shuttles rose only 1 per cent to 609,357, although coach traffic rose 24 per cent to 19,443.

Shuttle service revenues rose to £77.9 million, compared with £77.4 million for the same period last year.

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL?
* Eurotunnel is planning to cut its £6.1 billion of debt
* In September it said it was not ready to convert into shares £526 million of debt, but added that debt talks were on track
* It has said bankruptcy is certain if it has no outline debt deal with creditors by next month