Sep. 25--Cendant Corp. is cutting about 200 workers at its Galileo International reservation unit as part of a broad realignment at its Parsippany-based travel services businesses. 

The cuts represent about 8 percent of the 2,650 worldwide employees at Galileo, which Cendant bought for $3.1 billion in October. 

Most of the cuts will be in the Chicago area, where Galileo's Americas operations are based, said Andrea Steffy, a company spokeswoman. The rest of the reductions are spread throughout North America, including some in Parsippany. 

But they will be "very minimal," Steffy said. 

At the same time, in an attempt to leverage its brands more effectively, Cendant said it would split its Travel Distribution Services Division into six "customer-focused" business segments: airline; hospitality and leisure; Galileo clients; corporate; retail travel; and shared service, which cuts across business lines. 

"The travel industry has entered a new era, and we are fundamentally changing how we manage our businesses to better serve our customers," said Sam E. Galeotos, who took over as president and chief executive of Galileo International last month. 

"Cendant has assembled an impressive portfolio of travel distribution assets and people over the last year and this is the next step in integrating these businesses," Galeotos said. "Our new structure makes it easier to leverage our expertise, content, products, and technology across our brands." Galileo, whose bookings fell 12 percent last quarter, ranks second to Sabre Holdings Corp. in providing reservation services to travel agents. 

Cendant's announcement comes as companies throughout the leisure industry are laying off workers as travel fails to rebound as fast as expected. Global business travel will fall 3.5 percent this year, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. 

"The critical issue for Galileo is whether it helps to drive revenues at other Cendant travel divisions," said Jeff Kessler, an analyst at Lehman Brothers. 

"By the summer of 2003, I'll be able to tell you whether Cendant's acquisition of Galileo was a success," Kessler said. 

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