Gap is planning to make job cuts

After nearly three years of sagging sales, clothing retailer Gap Inc. is preparing to lay off workers as part of a cost-cutting effort designed to increase profit.

Gap spokesman Greg Rossiter confirmed Wednesday that job cuts were inevitable as the San Francisco-based company responded to Wall Street’s pressure to bring its expenses in line with its eroding revenue.

“Clearly, some level of job cuts will be necessary,” Rossiter said. “These are never easy, but they will be a relatively small percentage of the overall workforce.”

Gap employs about 154,000 workers, meaning that a 1% to 2% reduction in jobs could translate into 1,500 to 3,000 pink slips.

Rossiter declined to estimate the number of possible job cuts or to discuss the Gap divisions that would be affected because no final decisions had yet been made. Besides the Gap brand, the company also owns the Old Navy and Banana Republic chains.