FREEPORT – L.L. Bean laid off 175 employees Wednesday as part of the company’s reorganization.

The job cuts were the culmination of a three-year review to streamline the company and eliminate redundant positions. Most layoffs were in the merchandising and marketing divisions, and ranged from senior managers on down to administrative support positions.

The layoffs were the first at the mail-order retailer since 1995, when about 350 positions were eliminated.

“I am confident that these measures are essential to the future success of the business, yet such decisions are never easy,” said Chris McCormick, president and chief executive officer. “However, these changes must occur if the company is to experience sustained growth and the capacity for strategic investment over the long term.”

L.L. Bean is one of Maine’s best-known companies and among its largest employers, with approximately 4,200 full-time jobs. During its peak holiday sales period, it often has another 5,000 seasonal workers on its payroll.

Three years ago, L.L. Bean kicked off a three-year review to eliminate duplicate work and make its business model less complex.

Company spokesman Rich Donaldson said employees have known for about 21/2 weeks that layoff notices were coming on Wednesday, a situation that he acknowledged created anxiety among workers.

He said all laid-off employees will receive 30 days of regular pay and benefits. They also will receive one or two weeks of severance pay for each year of employment, depending on their level of work.

L.L. Bean’s sales declines in recent months underscore the need for the company to become more efficient, Donaldson said.

L.L. Bean’s sales in 2001 will be between 3 percent and 5 percent below 2000 levels, when revenues were about $1.1 billion, Donaldson said. He added that the company lost an estimated $65 million in sales from mid-September to Thanksgiving as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

As part of the reorganization, L.L. Bean will focus on its core products and use them broadly, rather than develop new niche products. The company’s decision last fall to phase out its Freeport Studio line of professional women’s clothing illustrates the push in that direction, Donaldson said.

A similar strategy has paid off for Lands’ End, a Wisconsin-based catalog retailer that competes with L.L. Bean and has had strong sales growth in recent years. Lands’ End sales last year were up about 8 percent over 2000, and its profits increased by about 75 percent.

Analysts have lauded Lands’ End for focusing on its strengths and using them to strengthen the company as whole.

Donaldson said the changes at Bean will be subtle to consumers.

“I think what our customers will see is consistency of messaging as to the identify of L.L. Bean as a brand,” he said.