Nokia, Siemens pledge support for NSN

Nokia and Siemens reaffirmed their commitment to their struggling equipment joint venture, Nokia Siemens Networks, in a letter sent to NSN's clients.

"We continue to support investment in the future of the company, both in terms of expenditure and potential acquisitions and partnerships," Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo and Siemens CFO Joe Kaeser wrote in the letter dated Dec. 9. A Nokia Siemens spokesman confirmed that the letter had be sent, according to Reuters.

Analysts have openly speculated about the companies' long-term commitments to Nokia Siemens after both reported large writedowns related to the joint venture. Nokia reported a $1.35 billion writedown of its stake in NSN, and Siemens' writedown totalled $2.39 billion.

In the wake of weak performance in the third quarter, Nokia Siemens said it may cut as many as 5,760 jobs as part of a broad restructuring and cost-cutting program. More recently, Nokia Siemens CEO Rajeev Suri said the company ought to refocus on regaining market share. According to research firm Dell'Oro, Chinese vendor Huawei stole the No. 2 spot from Nokia Siemens in terms of global market share in the third quarter.

For more:
- see this Reuters article

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