Hughes, Disney Start Layoffs

ORLANDO-In its first layoffs since the 1991 recession, Hughes Supply Inc., a 73-year-old, family-founded and operated wholesale distributorship of 240,000 commercial and industrial materials, is laying off 40 staffers from its 700-person work force, a cut of 6%.

At the same time, Walt Disney World is in its final phase of laying off a total 1,650 employees at its 30,000-worker attraction in suburban Lake Buena Vista, FL.

Property management staffers and an undisclosed number of other salaried workers associated with operating Disney’s theme park properties are among the eliminated positions, sources intimate with the layoffs tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity.