Gap is considering layoffs to cut costs: paper

A model wears a drawstring dress from the Gap Spring 2007 collection. The clothing retailer Gap Inc. is considering sizable layoffs over the next few weeks to cut costs, the New York Post reported on Wednesday, citing three people familiar with the situation.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Clothing retailer Gap Inc. (GPS.N) is considering sizable layoffs over the next few weeks to cut costs, the New York Post reported on Wednesday, citing three people familiar with the situation.

The job cuts would occur at all levels of the company, which employs 150,000 people, as its seeks to eliminate a stifling bureaucracy, the paper said.

Gap spokesman Greg Rossiter told the Post that layoffs were part of the company's cost-control plan but said they would be a relatively small percentage of the total work force.

Gap wasn't immediately available for comment.

In January, Gap Chief Executive Paul Pressler resigned after more than two years of weak sales and a failed attempt to revive the struggling brand.

The retailer, which operates the Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic chains, appointed Robert Fisher, son of the company's founder, as interim CEO while it searches for a replacement.