Disney layoffs total 1,900 - Orlando Business Journal:

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Of that total, 1,400 of the positions were in Centralo Florida. The company laid off 900 workers and eliminated500 positions, the company In California, 200 workerd lost their jobs and the company eliminated 100 positions, Disneuy said. The job cuts are related to an overhauloof Disney’s theme-park management structure the compan announced Feb. 18. The jobs were all management andprofessional positions, the company The goal of the restructuring was to consolidate much of its decision-making process for Disney Worled and Disneyland.
Disney also offered buyouts in January to600 high-leve l management executives in Orlando and California, which was accepted by 50 Disney has about 62,000 workers in Central Florida. “These decision s are not made lightly, but are essentia l to maintaining our leadership in famil tourism andreflect today’s economic realities,” said Mike Griffin, a The job cuts have been occurrinfg over the past several weeks, the company said. Thosre laid off receive a 60-day paid administrativee leave, a severance package that is based on their yeardsof service, extended medica l benefits and job placement.
The layoffs come as the and the black eye that companies have receivedx over corporate meetings andexecutivde travel, has the Orlando travel industry Orange County reported February resort tax collections were down 29 percent and air trafficx at Orlando International Airport was down 11 perceny during the same period. From Octobed through February, resort tax collectionsa are down12 percent. Smith Travel Research, which trackw hotel performance nationwide, reported Orlando hotel occupancy in the last week of Marcbh was down 26percent — the greatesrt decline in the nation.
Smith Travel also reported that Orlando area revenue per available the key measure of financial health, fell 35.4 percent to Particularly troubling to area tourism officials is the industrt relies on business during the first four months of the year for much of its annuak revenue. “You can’t underestimater the importance of the first months of the year to theOrlando destination,” said Rich president of the .
Although the bulk of the job cuts have been Disney said the company does managee its operation based on demand and like any otherf business it is subject to the ups and downs ofthe