McDonald : to cut 63 headquarters jobs in cost reduction

(Reuters) - McDonald's Corp will cut 63 jobs at its corporate headquarters as part of a plan to reduce costs by $100 million as it looks to increase sales and reverse traffic declines in its major markets.

The layoffs, reported to the state of Illinois under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, will be effective Feb. 16, said Heidi Barker, a McDonald's spokeswoman, on Thursday.

McDonald's plans to "redirect nearly $100 million in savings toward business priorities, such as digital and new restaurant platforms, that will support our key growth drivers," Barker said in a statement on McDonald's website.

The world's biggest fast-food chain by revenue has not reported a gain in monthly sales at established U.S. restaurants since October 2013. Later this month, it is expected to report that 2014 was one of its worst performance years in history.

McDonald's employs roughly 1,700 workers at its headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; editing by Gunna Dickson)