The Walt Disney Co. is embarking on a project to streamline its theme park operations, setting the stage for job cuts in the coming weeks, it was reported on Thursday.

Under the new structure, the behind-the-scenes operations of Disneyland in Los Angeles and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida will be consolidated into a single unit, led by Worldwide Operations President Al Weiss, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Disney officials indicated the changes would result in layoffs affecting its 80,000-strong workforce in its U.S. parks and resorts unit, but could not immediately say how many jobs would be eliminated, the paper said.

Disneyland Resort President Ed Grier and Walt Disney World Resort President Meg Crofton will continue to oversee the majority of the local staff, but Weiss' group will take over certain functions that cut across parks, such as training, procurement, menu planning and merchandise development, according to the paper.

The changes come amid falling attendance and expectations that the yearlong recession has months to go before it runs its course.

The company last month offered buyout packages to 600 executives in its domestic parks division, which, in addition to the theme parks, includes Disney cruise ships and resorts in vacation spots such as Vero Beach, Florida, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Attendance at Disney's U.S. parks fell 5 percent in the three- month period that ended Dec. 27, compared with the same period a year earlier, the paper said.

The parks and resorts division contributes about a quarter of the entertainment giant's operating income and revenue, but its business is sensitive to economic downturns and shifts in consumer spending habits, according to the paper.

(Xinhua New Agency February 20, 2009)