Poland's largest telecommunications company Telekomunikacja Polska (TP) will cut employment by about 1,700 annually in the coming years, Puls Biznesu reported, citing sources in the firm.

TP's management is said to have talked to representatives of trade unions active in the company. The plan is to reduce employment by about 4,500-5,000 between 2014 and 2016. The number includes both layoffs and voluntary contract terminations. TP has already cut nearly 10,000 jobs since 2007.

In mid-February, the telecom announced an 86 percent decrease in its profits for Q4 2012 against the period a year earlier. As a result, its shares had plummeted by some 43 percent.

But on Friday, TP shares rose after French telecommunications giant France Telecom, TP's majority shareholder, said it would aid the firm. The company's stock rose 4.3 percent.

France Telecom had said in February that it wrote down €889 million in impairment costs on its Polish subsidiary in 2012. The write-downs strongly influenced its annual results. France Telecom's full-year net income fell to €820 million in 2012, compared with €3.9 billion a year earlier. Sales fell 3.9 percent to €43.5 billion.

Poland A.M.