MINNEAPOLIS - General Mills says it's cutting about 850 jobs as part of a plan to lower costs and boost efficiency.

The Minneapolis-based maker of Cheerios cereal, Natural Valley granola bars and Hamburger Helper says cutting jobs will "better position the company for future growth."

About half of the 850 layoffs will be in Minneapolis. The company says administrative and support positions will be most affected by the layoffs.

General Mills expects the plan to result in total pretax charges of about $109 million, which will cover costs related to workers whose jobs are terminated and equipment.

Layoff notifications will begin Tuesday and continue over the next few weeks.

The company says about $94 million of those charges will come in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ends on Sunday. The rest will be recorded in fiscal 2013.

The company says it still expects to post an adjusted fiscal 2012 profit of $2.53 to $2.55 per share. Analysts expect a profit of $2.54 per share.

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