Nokia, the world's largest phone maker by volume, may have violated Chinese labor laws when it fired 170 employees in the country after giving only 10 days advance notice.

Employees at Nokia China have accused the company of violating Chinese labor laws by giving them only ten days to either accept a transfer to technology consultancy Accenture or face termination of their contract.

Nokia China spokesperson Gong Wangfei denied the accusations, saying the cuts were "in accordance with relevant laws" and calling the move "major strategic restructuring, not a layoff."

Under Chinese law, an employer must notify all employees 30 days prior to reducing its workforce.

Nokia's market value has shrunk by two-thirds since Apple unveiled its first iPhone handset in 2007. In April, Nokia announced it would cut 4,000 jobs worldwide and outsource another 3,000 to Accenture as part of a plan to slash annual spending by 1 billion euros (US$1.46 billion).

Most of the reductions will occur in Denmark, Finland and the U.K. The dismissals come as the company transitions from handsets running its Symbian mobile operating system to devices using Windows Phone 7.