McDonald's Corp. said on Thursday it laid off in July 135 employees at its U.S. headquarters and 90 corporate employees posted overseas as part of a major restructuring at the fast-food chain, which has been fighting to reverse a long sales slump.

McDonald's Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook in May announced plans cut $300 million in costs by the end of 2017 as part of a corporate reset that includes simplifying and streamlining operations to make the company more nimble in an intensely competitive market.

"We do not take decisions that impact jobs lightly, but we committed in May to implement meaningful changes to reset our business, remove layers and find cost efficiencies, and we are acting with a sense of urgency on that commitment," McDonald's spokeswoman Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem said in a statement.