Amaranth Advisors, a US hedge fund manager that last month lost $6bn (€4.7bn) of its $9.5bn of assets on natural gas investments, is planning to cut almost 60% of its workforce next week.

Charlie Winkler, Amaranth's chief operating officer, said the firm would dismiss approximately 200 to 250 of its 420 employees. It is contacting rival hedge fund managers in an attempt to place them, suggesting they can avoid headhunters' fees by dealing directly.