* Skanska says to cut 800 jobs at Czech unit
* Says cuts are on top of 400 jobs already cut this year
* Says expects Czech, Nordic markets to remain tough in '10
(Adds company comment, background)
PRAGUE/STOCKHOLM, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Skanska, the Nordic region's biggest construction group, said on Wednesday it would cut 800 jobs in its Czech business as the economic downturn weighed on construction spending.
"They have locally, in the Czech Republic, made clear that they will cut by 800 people," Skanska spokesman Peter Gimbe said. "It is a result of the weak market situation. We simply need to adapt the organisation to reflect that there are fewer construction contracts to bid for."
Gimbe said the job cuts to be carried out at the unit were on top of 400 jobs that have already been shed this year.
The Nordic group employs 6,800 in the Czech Republic, whose economy slumped into recession starting at the end of last year. Unemployment in the central European country of 10.5 million rose to a more than three-year high of 8.5 percent in August.
Skanska said in July it expected revenues in a number of markets to decline during 2009, with the Nordic countries and the Czech Republic expected to account for the largest downturn while the following year will also see revenues fall.
"The markets in the world that look the worst are the Nordic region and the Czech Republic," Gimbe said.
"We expect the situation to similar in the Nordics and the Czech Republic during 2010 and that the market will be tough."
(Reporting by Jason Hovet and Oskar von Bahr; editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Simon Jessop)