Siemens is searching a new Chief Executive to look after  its mobile phone network equipment joint venture unit Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), Siemens supervisory board member Sibylle Wenkel told Reuters.

Wenkel, who represents the IG metal trade union on the supervisory board of the German engineering conglomerate, said that Siemens finance director Joe Kaeser has been looking around for an alternative to the current CEO Rajeev Suri. 

Siemens and NSN declined comment. Nokia could not immediately be reached for comment. 

NSN is a 50-50 joint venture with partner Nokia and has announced last week it would cut about 2,900 of a total 9,100 jobs in Germany, mostly by the end of this year.