The world's largest household products company has about 57,000 non-manufacturing employees among its total workforce of about 129,000.

After years of expanding, bringing products such as Gillette Guard razors to India and Pantene shampoo to Brazil, P&G realized that it needs to be more nimble in order to ensure strong growth, especially in emerging markets, at a faster clip.

P&G also trimmed earnings forecasts for the current quarter and fiscal year because of the new plan to sell its Pringles snack business to Kellogg Co.

The two companies announced their deal last week after P&G walked away from a plan to sell Pringles to Diamond Foods Inc., whose accounting practices came under fire after that agreement had been signed.

The job cuts will largely be completed by the end of fiscal 2013, which ends in June of that year, McDonald said at the annual Consumer Analyst Group of New York, or CAGNY, conference in Boca Raton, Florida.

P&G outlined a variety of projects it is putting in place, including using less-expensive packaging, eliminating duplicate work where it can and working on innovations with outside companies and with virtual technology.

P&G lowered earnings per share expectations by 2 cents for the current third quarter and by 7 cents for the fiscal year due to the pending sale of Pringles. It now expects to earn 89 cents to 95 cents per share in the third quarter, which ends in March, and $3.93 to $4.03 per share in the fiscal year ending in June.

Shares of Cincinnati-based P&G were up 2.4 percent at $65.99 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.