Liz Claiborne to Cut Jobs and Review Brands

The apparel company Liz Claiborne said yesterday it planned to cut 600 to 800 jobs and was considering whether to sell 16 brands to cut costs and focus on profitable fashion lines.

Under the plan, the company expects to save $100 million in 2008 and an additional $90 million over the next two years.

The cuts amount to 7 to 9 percent of its nonretail global work force, including senior positions.

The brands under review account for about $800 million of its projected annual sales of $5 billion.

“We are at a turning point,” the chief executive, William L. McComb, said at an investor conference. “Everything we do will be centered on one key principle: building powerful brands.”

The company will separate its brands into two operating segments.

Its retail-based segment, which the company said should generate about $2.2 billion in revenue in 2007, includes Juicy Couture, Kate Spade, Lucky Brand Jeans and Mexx brands.

Mr. McComb intends to focus on those four brands and expects they will account for $3 billion in sales by 2010 as the company expands its marketing effort and adds stores in the United States and abroad.

The second segment will be its wholesale-based partnered brand group, which includes its Liz Claiborne brands, DKNY Jeans group, Monet brands and its cosmetics brands. The company expects its partnered brands to account for about $2.8 billion in revenue, including $800 million from brands under strategic review.

Liz Claiborne said it was reviewing its alternatives — which include selling, discontinuing or licensing — for the brands C&C California, Dana Buchman, Ellen Tracy, Emma James, Enyce, First Issue, Intuitions, J. H. Collectibles, Kensie, Laundry by Design, Mac & Jac, prAna, Sigrid Olsen, Stamp 10, Tapemeasure and Tint.

Shares in the company, which is based in New York, rose 33 cents, to $37.56.