The struggling telecoms equipment maker¹ Nokia Siemens Networks is cutting 17,000 jobs, 23% of its workforce².

陷入困境的电信设备生产商诺基亚西门子通信公司将要裁员17000人，占其总劳动力的23%。

The cuts from its 74,000-strong workforce should help reduce costs by some 1bn euros ($1.35bn; £860m), the company said in a statement.

The loss-making venture, owned by Finland's Nokia and Germany's Siemens, has faced stiff competition from rivals such as Huawei and Ericsson.

The owners are considering listing the venture as a separate company.

"This is a big move. I believe the goal is an Initial Public Offering [flotation]. That cannot be done with the current structure and operation models," said Jari Honko, an analyst³ at Swedbank.

Nokia Siemens chief executive Rajeev Suri described the planned layoffs⁴（裁员） as "regrettable but necessary".

"As we look towards the prospect⁵ of an independent future, we need to take action now to improve our profitability and cash generation," Mr Suri said.

"These changes didn't come out of the blue. When a new chairman was appointed earlier, they signalled that a strategy update would be coming," said Sami Sarkamies an analyst at Nordea Bank.

Cuts of this size were likely to be carried out in different phases said Sarkamies.

He said they were likely to have a positive effect on the company's share price.

"Savings⁶ of 1bn euros could translate into a ten-cent earnings⁷ per share improvement for Nokia," explained Sarkamies.

Traders use earnings per share as a key measure to value companies listed on the stock exchange.

The firm, which is a joint⁸ venture between Finland's Nokia and Germany's Siemens, has said the restructuring program will involve cuts across operations worldwide.

Shares in Nokia Siemens rose more than 2% to 4.27 euro after the announcement.

Nokia Siemens has been squeezed by market leader Ericsson and increasing competition from Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE.

It is not alone in the industry in announcing large-scale job cuts.

French rival Alcatel Lucent cut 12,500 jobs in 2007 while Ericsson cut 5,000 jobs in 2009 and a further 1,500 in 2010.

Struggling Canadian giant Nortel eventually filed for bankruptcy⁹ protection.

In its last trading statement the firm posted a 16% rise in sales to 3.4bn euro ($4.6bn; £2.9bn) which it said was "driven primarily by growth from the acquired Motorola Solutions networks assets".

In September, Nokia and Siemens had announced 500m euro of additional funding for the joint venture to strengthen the firm's financial position.