It's a Downsized World After All

The Disney parks may feature Fantasyland, but they are not immune to the reality of the economic downturn. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Disney plans to trim its theme park payroll by offering buyouts to 619 executives. If enough don't voluntarily accept the offers, the company said that it would lay off some of the employees--and likely offer them less attractive severance packages.

Disney says that it is focusing its cuts on high-level directors rather than front-line employees. The massive Walt Disney World is bearing the brunt of the cuts with 313 buyout offers. 91 executives at the smaller Disneyland Resort are targeted along with another 22 at the Mouse's corporate headquarters. Compared to Disney's other park divisions, it's surprising to note that 193 employees at its Imagineering headquarters in California are on the chopping block. One of the country's largest single-site employers, Walt Disney World has over 50,000 people on its payroll. Considerably less than that work at Imagineering to design the attractions, and it's presumed that it will need all hands on deck to begin developing the planned sixth Disney resort in Shanghai.

In another ominous sign for this year's theme park outlook, Universal Orlando let 70 of its employees go yesterday. What will the layoffs mean for visitors to the parks? Disney has already closed and trimmed back the schedules of some of its shows. If attendance and spending continue to slump, it's likely that more changes--and layoffs--might occur. What are your thoughts? Weigh in by clicking on "Comments" below.