The Orlando Sentinel ran a story this week painting a grim picture for timeshare company employees nationwide, but especially in Central Florida. Workers in Orlando stand to be hit extra hard because the city’s 125 timeshare resorts, and approximately 28,000 timeshare units, qualify Orlando as the top timesharing city in the world.

Reductions at Wyndham Timeshare

According to the OrlandoSentinel.com (and other sources), Wyndham Vacation Ownership (Wyndham timeshare) is cutting a quarter of its companywide workforce, many of whom will be lost from the Orlando offices. Some 4,000 layoffs are anticipated for Wyndham timeshares overall.

Wyndham plans to gear down from annual sales of about $2 billion to approximately $1.2 billion in 2009. The Orlando Sentinel quoted Franz Hanning, chief executive officer of Wyndham timeshare, as saying, “We really don’t see those markets (the credit markets) reappearing for the foreseeable future … We want to take a proactive approach.”

Layoffs at Westgate Resorts Timeshare

At Orlando’s Westgate Resorts, rumors are circulating that the timeshare company stands on the brink of bankruptcy. David Siegel, founder and CEO of Westgate timeshares, insists there is no truth to the rumors, but does confirm that another 1,000 jobs will be cut at Westgate, following layoffs of more than 3,000 workers already this year.

Changes in timeshare sales will not necessarily hurt or help the timeshare resale market. While more people may be looking to resell their timeshare, putting more properties on the market, there may be equally as many people who recognize the value in timeshare resales over new timeshare, creating a strong demand in the resale market.

As with many things that are happening now … time will tell.