AMSC to cut jobs, shut Middleton plant in Wisconsin

(Adds details, outlook, shares)

March 19 (Reuters) - Wind turbine parts maker AMSC said it would cut 5-10 percent of its workforce by the end of the year and shut its Middleton plant in Wisconsin, moving the operations to its headquarters in Massachusetts.

Shares of AMSC, which also estimated a smaller adjusted loss for the fourth quarter ending March 31, rose as much as 10 percent in noon trading on the Nasdaq.

The company also said it would set up a plant in Romania to make wind turbine electrical control systems for customers outside of China.

AMSC, which mainly supplies electrical systems used in wind turbines, had 362 employees as of March 31.

The company said the actions were expected to help it save about $3 million in costs annually from the fourth quarter of the year ending March 31, 2015.

All of AMSC's Middleton employees are expected to be offered the opportunity to relocate to Massachusetts, the company said.

Operations at its New Berlin plant in Wisconsin will be unaffected, it said.

AMSC estimated an adjusted loss of 14-16 cents per share for the current quarter compared with 21 cents per share reported a year earlier.

The company estimated revenue of $14 million to $16 million, down from $20.4 million posted a year earlier.

Two analysts on average were expecting an adjusted loss of 18 cents per share on revenue of $17 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

AMSC, which is expected to report its results in June, said it expected to record restructuring charges of about $1 million in the quarter.

The company's shares were up 2.4 percent at $2.17 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Mridhula Raghavan in Bangalore; Editing by Kirti Pandey)