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LOS ANGELES — Online toy retailer eToys says it will cut its workforce and may run out of operating cash by the end of March because of weak holiday sales. 

The company said in a statement Friday that it has retained Goldman Sachs & Co. to explore a sale, merger or restructuring. 

EToys has revised its sales and earnings estimates for the third quarter ending Dec. 31. It said it is expecting net sales of between $120 million and $130 million instead of the $210 million to $240 million it had previously expected. 

The company also said it expects operating losses to be between 55 percent and 65 percent of revenue. That compares with an estimate of between 22 percent and 28 percent of revenue the company previously expected. 

If the new estimates hold, the company’s performance in the third quarter will still be better than the same period last year. Unless eToys raises additional capital or realizes significant savings from layoffs and other cost-cutting measures, it may not be enough to keep them in business, the company warned. 

“We are disappointed that sales have not materialized to the degree we had expected,” Toby Lenk, eToys president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “But we point to the fact that the company is expected to show between 12 percent and 22 percent growth in revenue versus the same quarter last year and we are serving customers exceptionally well this holiday season.” 

The company blamed poor sales on “a harsh retail climate” caused by concerns over the economy, current attitudes toward Internet retailing, and consumers who have been “meaningfully distracted by the presidential election and its aftermath.” 

The company said it will announce a plan to reduce its workforce in January. It also warned investors to disregard any previous guidance it has issued about expected revenues for the next fiscal year. 

Shares of the company were trading at $1.03 per share, down about 3 percent in late trading Friday.