FairPoint Communications says it's eliminating about 260 jobs in the 17 states where it operates, including the closing of a call center in South Burlington, Vermont.

The company that provides landline telephone digital communications services says the layoffs and other "headcount reductions" over the past two years is about equivalent to its voice line losses.

In a statement, FairPoint CEO Paul Sunu said that while difficult, the steps help solidify the company's future.

The company did not specify how many of those job losses would occur in Vermont, New Hampshire in Maine.

But the unions that represent some FairPoint employees in northern New England say the layoffs are of more than 10 percent of the workforce in the three states. The union says the cuts will erode FairPoint service.