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The Walt Disney Co. says it has cut 1,900 positions at its U.S. theme parks due to the slumping economy.

Some 1,200 people were laid off and 700 open positions will be left unfilled.

Disney ( DIS - news - people ) spokeswoman Tasia Filippatos said Friday the cuts "reflect today's economic realities."

The cuts were part of a reorganization announced in February. Among the cuts were 50 executives who accepted a voluntary buyout that was offered to 600 people.

The vast majority of the cuts came from managerial and other salaried staff, not from employees in the parks who interact with park visitors.

Ford Motor Co. says it lost $5.9 billion in the fourth quarter but it has no plans to seek federal aid unless economic conditions worsen.

The second-largest U.S. automaker says it burned through $5.5 billion in cash during the quarter.

The company said Thursday it lost $2.46 per share, compared with a loss of $2.8 billion, or $1.13 per share, for the year-ago period.

Excluding one-time items, Ford lost $1.37 per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of $1.30 per share.

Revenue fell to $29.2 billion, down from $45.5 billion for the fourth quarter of 2007.

The Dearborn, Mich., company also announced that its credit arm would cut 20 percent of its work force, or 1,200 jobs, and it has reached agreement with the United Auto Workers Union to end the jobs bank in which laid-off workers get most of their pay.

WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill on Wednesday to lend up to $14 billion to the three struggling U.S. automakers, General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC.

Introduced by Democrats, the bill is nearly identical to one pending in the Senate, where Republican opposition was making its chances for passage look uncertain.

The bailout proposal would extend taxpayer-funded loans or lines of credit to the Detroit Three and create a federal government post of 'car czar' to oversee the industry.

(Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh; Editing by Tim Dobbyn) Keywords: AUTOS/BAILOUT VOTE