Twenty-seven people lost their jobs Friday at Eagle Crest Resort and Brasada Ranch, two Central Oregon resorts owned by Klamath Falls-based Jeld-Wen.

The staff reduction, which amounts to about a 10 percent cut in the resorts’ combined work forces, was made in response to the sluggish tourism economy, according to the company. After the cuts, the resorts will employ 226 people between the two of them.

Brasada Ranch, about 20 miles northeast of Bend in Powell Butte, lost 16 employees. Eagle Crest, just west of Redmond, lost 11.

People who lost their jobs primarily performed office work in several different departments, said Teri Cline, the director of communications for Jeld-Wen.

Cline said layoffs were not Jeld-Wen’s first response to the economy.

First, the company worked on “improving efficiencies and nonessential expenditures,” said Cline, who could not elaborate.

“The reality is those efforts have helped, but the reduction in work force is still necessary,” she said.

Jeld-Wen opened in the 1960s with 15 employees as a company specializing in made-to-order windows and doors. Now, the corporation employs more than 20,000 people in more than a dozen countries. Besides Eagle Crest and Brasada Ranch, the company owns seven other resorts.

Elsewhere in the company, seasonal layoffs happen each winter at the Jeld-Wen Window Division in Bend to manage finances during slower construction times, Cline said.

But this year, as the recession continued to grip the housing market, summer business didn’t increase enough to hire back 20 workers laid off in January. That’s the first time that has happened in seven years, Cline said.

The economy has curtailed tourism, too.

Room-tax collections, considered the best measure of tourism activity, were off 9.5 percent and 14.4 percent in unincorporated Deschutes County and Bend, respectively, in the fiscal year that ended June 30 from the prior fiscal year.

People are traveling less in general and revenue is down throughout the tourism industry, Cline said. Many people who travel to resorts like Eagle Crest and Brasada Ranch are now vacationing for two nights instead of three, she said.

“They’re spending less when they come” as well, she added.

Scott Huntsman, general manager of Black Butte Ranch west of Sisters, said this year has been tough compared with previous ones. But Black Butte hasn’t planned any permanent staffing reductions. The same holds true for Pronghorn Resort, said Karen Morris, director of operations.

The Jeld-Wen employees were notified their jobs had been cut Friday morning in one-on-one meetings. The company is paying an employment agency to work with each person to try to find new jobs. Cline doesn’t expect additional cuts.

Despite losing the employees, Cline said the two resorts will continue to offer the same services they always have. Both have golf courses, cabins, sports centers, spas and restaurants, among other amenities.

“It’s important for the community to know that Brasada and Eagle Crest are still open for business and still very committed to the community,” Cline said.