Nokia Siemens Networks, a joint venture between Finnish and German engineering giants Nokia and Siemens, said Wednesday it is shutting down one of its German units with the potential loss of 1,000 jobs. "Nokia Siemens Networks is planning to close its German unit Nokia Siemens Networks Services, a network infrastructure services provider in the area of traditional telecommunications... by end-2013 at the latest.

The closure will affect 1,000 employees at 16 sites in Germany," the company said in a statement. The business has never been profitable in the five years since it was set up in 2008, instead running up accumulated losses "in the double-digit millions of euros," Nokia Siemens Networks explained. "In addition, given the decision to focus on mobile broadband as part of the strategic reorientation of Nokia Siemens Networks, these sort of network infrastructure services are no longer part of our core business," it said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012