LITTLE ROCK—Telephone and broadband provider Windstream Corp. says it will cut 170 jobs from its workforce because of declining revenue from its landline business.

Windstream spokesman David Avery says the cuts include involuntary layoffs, but that the company hopes some employees will volunteer for buyouts. Avery says the cuts will be companywide, and include 11 positions in Arkansas. Windstream has about 7,400 employees and has customers in 16 states.

The layoff amounts to about 2.3 percent of Windstream’s workforce.

The Little Rock-based company was created in 2006 when Alltel Corp. spun off its traditional phone business and merged it with Irving, Texas-based Valor Communications Group Inc. Windstream says it expects the layoffs to be complete in the first quarter of next year.

Windstream says the company expects to pay about $6 million in severance benefits in the fourth quarter to affected employees.

Avery said a state-by-state breakdown of the cuts isn’t available because the company is asking for workers to accept severance packages. Affected workers can apply for open positions within the company. Windstream is also offering job placement assistance to workers who lose their jobs.

The company offers traditional landline phone service, for which it has seen demand soften.

“We continue to experience revenue pressure from declining access lines. It’s important to control expenses in this economy,” Avery said.

In addition to voice service, Windstream offers high-speed Internet service and digital TV, in an arrangement with Dish Network.

The company has customers in 16 states and has 3.1 million access lines and $3.2 billion in annual revenue.