FMC chief executive John Gremp said on a quarterly conference call on Wednesday that the cuts would be "most significant" in North America, "where rapid activity declines are coming, in this short-cycle market".
"We're responding quickly and significantly to the slowdown in our North American businesses by reducing discretionary and capital spending," Gremp told investors.
Houston-based FMC had just under 20,000 employees worldwide as of last year.
