UPDATE 1-LoJack posts Q1 loss; suspends providing '09 outlook

* Cuts employee compensation and benefits for 2009

* Q1 loss/shr $0.38 vs EPS $0.05 year ago

* Revenue falls 40 pct

April 30 (Reuters) - LoJack Corp (LOJN.O), which provides wireless systems to track stolen vehicles, posted a quarterly loss hurt by contraction in the global auto market, and said it was suspending providing outlook for the full year.

The company also said it was cutting its total employee compensation and benefits for 2009 for expected savings of $5.5 million.

For the first quarter, net loss was $6.4 million, or 38 cents a share, compared with net income of $1.0 million, or 5 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 40 percent to $27.8 million.

The company, which has cut its workforce by more than 20 percent since the first quarter of 2008, said it was further reducing costs, effective April 1.

Shares of the company closed at $4.99 Wednesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)