FREEPORT – L.L. Bean plans to make its deepest job cuts since the mid-1990s as part of a reorganization of its marketing and merchandising operations.

The mail-order retailer, one of Maine’s largest employers, would not say how many jobs will be eliminated. It is expected to announce the figure by the month’s end, when it finishes its budget for the next fiscal year.

Job cuts among year-round employees are expected to be the deepest since 1995, when 350 people were laid off following a drop in overseas sales, the Portland Press Herald reported over the weekend.

The company has 4,200 year-round employees and a similar number of seasonal workers during the holiday period.

The first cuts will be made in marketing, and the cuts in merchandising will follow in a few months, the newspaper said.

No hourly workers are expected to be laid off, and a company memo said job cuts are not likely in the customer-satisfaction, returns, retail, distribution or manufacturing areas.

“The focus here is primarily on administrative functions,” said spokesman Rich Donaldson. He confirmed that two vice presidents and one director were told Friday that their jobs were eliminated.

The reorganization will focus on reducing the complexity of Bean’s merchandise-selection division and marketing division, which includes preparing and sending catalogs and advertising, Donaldson said.

The goal is to eliminate duplication of efforts, simplify processes and bring costs down. The company is concerned that its costs-to-sales ratios are higher than industry averages and believes the job cuts could narrow the difference.

Donaldson said the possibility of widespread changes has been clear since Bean began a company-wide reassessment three years ago.

Since then, Bean has tried to streamline operations and reinvigorate sales, which leveled off in the late 1990s. New products, more focused catalogs and new retail stores have been part of the effort.

The flagging economy is not the sole factor behind the job cuts, Donaldson said.

“This is not a knee-jerk reaction to a short-term softening of the business,” he said.

The company began 2001 with strong sales, which were up about 2 percent through the spring, Donaldson said. But sales fell sharply after Sept. 11, and Bean is expected to end the year with sales down between 3 and 5 percent.