UPDATE 1-Air Products to axe 7 pct of its workforce

* To axe 1,300 jobs, or 7 pct of its workforce

* Cuts Q1 earnings outlook

Dec 16 (Reuters) - Industrial gas supplier Air Products (APD.N) said it will axe about 7 percent of its global workforce, while cutting its first-quarter earnings outlook, in response to weak economic conditions and falling sales.

Air Products said it will eliminate 1,300 positions, or about seven percent of its global workforce in order to reduce overhead and infrastructure costs, as it experienced a slowdown in sales through November.

The first quarter pre-tax restructuring charge is expected to be in the range of $140 to $160 million, or about 43 cents to 50 cents per share, the company said.

The company now expects first-quarter earnings of 95 cents to $1 a share from continuing operations, excluding a restructuring charge, down from its earlier forecast of $1.15 to $1.21 per share.

The quarter-to-date consolidated sales through November were down 6 percent, hurt by weak consumer demand for semiconductors and liquid crystal displays, and also due to strong U.S. Dollar, the company said.

Analysts, on average, were expecting first quarter earnings of $1.08 a share, excluding items, on revenue of $2.3 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

The restructuring charge is expected to reduce fixed costs by about $50 million in fiscal 2009, the company said.

"This is clearly one of the weakest business environments we have seen across our end-markets," Chief Executive John McGlade said in a statement.

On Dec. 9, Air Products' peer Praxair Inc (PX.N) said it had cut 1,600 staff positions and closed underperforming and non-core product lines and businesses due to a substantial slowdown in demand. (Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy)