Disney is scrapping plans to move 2,000 jobs to Florida amid an escalating legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Walt Disney Co is scrapping plans to move 2,000 jobs to Florida in part because of “changing business conditions” in the state, according to an email to employees seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The announcement came amid an escalating legal battle between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the entertainment giant.
Disney parks chief Josh D’Amaro said “changes in leadership” and “changing business conditions” led Disney to reconsider its 2021 plan to relocate employees, including Imagineers who design park rides. themed, on a new campus in Lake Nona. Disney was expected to spend as much as $864 million on the project, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The original decision to move employees to Florida from California prompted complaints from many employees who did not want to move across the country.
“Given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions, we have decided not to proceed with construction of the campus,” D’Amaro wrote. “This was not an easy decision to make, but I think it’s the right one.”
D’Amaro also pointed to the situation of employees who have already relocated. “For those who have already moved, we will speak with you individually about your situation, including the possibility of moving you back.”
bitter battle
Disney and DeSantis have been locked in an escalating battle that began in March 2022, when then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek criticized legislation in Florida that would limit discussion of gender identity and sexuality in elementary schools. .
DeSantis, who is expected to soon announce that he will seek the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2024, then moved to strip Disney of its former self-governing power over Walt Disney World in Orlando. The governor argued that “Disney Woke” should not receive special treatment in the state.
Disney described the measure as political retaliation for which freedom of expression should be protected and sued the state last month to have the movements reversed.
A week ago, Disney CEO Bob Iger, on a call with investors about quarterly results, noted that the company employs more than 75,000 people in Florida, attracts millions of visitors each year to Disney World and had plans to invest $17 billion to expand the resource over the next decade.
“So I’m going to end … by asking a question,” Iger said on the call. “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?”
Iger’s predecessor announced plans in July 2021 to move jobs from southern California to a new facility in central Florida, citing its “business-friendly climate.” While Disney never disclosed the value of its investment, the Los Angeles Times reported that it would receive nearly $580 million in tax credits over the next 19 years.
“I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business,” D’Amaro wrote. We have plans to invest $17 billion and create 13,000 jobs in the next ten years. I hope we can do it.”