LOS ANGELES, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Educational toy maker LeapFrog Enterprises Inc is cutting about 70 jobs, including some senior management positions, in a bid to lower costs as a global credit crunch slows consumer spending in many parts of the world.
The workforce reductions represent about 10 percent of overall staff, the Emeryville, California-based company said in regulatory filings.
In a related event, Martin Pidel, LeapFrog's executive vice president of international, has resigned, effective Dec. 1, the company said.
LeapFrog, which expects the layoffs to be finished in the first quarter of 2009, also plans to consolidate its headquarters operations.
The resulting reduction in costs is expected to be $8 million to $9 million a year, beginning in 2009, the company said.
Leapfrog plans to take a related charge of about $5 million in the fourth quarter.
Severance payments should be "substantially" complete by the end of the third quarter of 2009 and payments associated with office space will be made over the next two years, the company said.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Andre Grenon) Keywords: LEAPFROG/ (lisa.baertlein@thomsonreuters.com +1 213 955 6742; Reuters Messaging: lisa.baertlein.reuters.com@reuters.net; )

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