Germany's plan of nuclear exit and renewable energy boost will ultimately create more jobs than it loses, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday after French nuclear firm Areva announced job cuts in Germany.

"The new energy policy will create more jobs than will be lost," Merkel told reporters.

Areva, a world leader in nuclear energy, said it would cut over 1,200 jobs in Germany as part of a plan to cut costs caused by the shrinking demands for nuclear power, local media reported Tuesday.

EON and RWE, Germany's two biggest power suppliers, have also planned substantial job cuts due to the government's abandonment of nuclear energy.

After Japan's earthquake and tsunami disaster triggered the nuclear catastrophe at the Fukushima power plant in March, Merkel promised to shut down all of Germany's 17 nuclear power plants and double renewable energy production by 2022.

Nuclear energy currently produces 22.6 percent of Germany's electricity, with coal providing over 42 percent, natural gas 13.6 percent and renewable energy 17 percent, according to the Energy Ministry.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet