STAMFORD, Conn. – International Paper Co. plans to cut about 3,000 jobs, or about 3.5 percent of its work force, in the next year to help improve profits, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The company has been discussing the work force reductions with its employees in the past week, said Jenny Boardman, an IP spokeswoman. It employs about 86,500 people overall.

“The company anticipates as part of its efforts to reduce overhead costs that it would eliminate approximately 3,000 positions within the next year,” Boardman said.

The reductions will primarily affect salaried personnel throughout the company, including cuts at the Stamford headquarters and about 450 positions in Memphis, Boardman said.

A small portion of the job cuts will be achieved through attrition, but most will be from layoffs, she said. The company will provide severance packages and help people find new jobs, Boardman said.

She did not have an estimate of how much money the company expects to save through the job cuts, but she said it is part of a broader plan to boost profits by $1.5 billion by 2005.

The planned job cuts are expected to impact IP’s mill in Bucksport, according to spokeswoman Kelly McFarlane.

“We will see some reductions,” McFarlane said Wednesday. “It’s too soon to speculate how many.”

Salaried personnel are a small percentage of the 900 employees at the mill, she said.

The job cuts will not occur all at once, she said, but will happen through the course of the next year. Although layoffs are expected, McFarlane said some of the job cuts can also be made through attrition.

The planned job cuts will not affect hourly workers at Bucksport, McFarlane said, adding, however, that there are other initiatives under way to determine the mill’s optimum staffing levels.

The reductions are not related to Tuesday’s announcement that International Paper president John Faraci will become chief executive and chairman when CEO John Dillon retires Oct. 31, Boardman said.

International Paper’s shares dropped $1.20, or nearly 3 percent, Wednesday to close at $40.63 on the New York Stock Exchange.