Bob Iger, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, pauses during a speech on the Recent York Economics Club event in downtown Manhattan on Oct. 24, 2019 in Recent York City.
Drew Anger | Getty’s paintings
Disney abandoned plans to open a recent staff campus in Lake Nona, Florida, amid rising tensions with the state’s governor.
Citing “changing business conditions” and the return of CEO Bob Iger, Josh D’Amaro, president of Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products division, wrote a memo to employees on Thursday announcing that the corporate wouldn’t move forward with campus construction and wouldn’t will already be asking greater than 2,000 California employees to relocate to Florida.
“It wasn’t a simple decision, but I feel it’s the appropriate one,” D’Amaro told employees.
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Many Disney employees opposed the corporate’s relocation plans after they were first announced in July 2021 by former CEO Bob Chapek. While some left the corporate or moved to other positions at Disney that may not require a move to Florida, others hoped the plan would fall through after the postponement. The campus was originally scheduled to open in 2022-2023, but was later delayed to 2026.
Disney is headquartered in Burbank, California, but operates numerous satellite offices across the country and the world.
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D’Amaro said employees who’ve already moved to Florida could move back to California.
“It is evident to me that the strength of this brand comes from our amazing people and we’re committed to handling this modification with care and compassion,” he said.
Disney’s announcement comes amid a bitter dispute between the corporate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The corporate filed a lawsuit accusing DeSantis and recent board members of its special district of waging a campaign of political revenge against the entertainment giant.
DeSantis attacked Disney’s special district, formerly called the Reedy Creek Improvement District, after the corporate publicly criticized a controversial law in Florida – dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics – that restricts discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms.
The special district has allowed the entertainment giant to successfully manage Orlando’s park operations by itself for many years. Ultimately, the district was left intact, but its five-member board was replaced by DeSantis and renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.
Disney filed the lawsuit in late April after recent management voted to revoke development contracts the corporate said it had entered into to secure its investments. The corporate has since updated this lawsuit to incorporate newly passed laws targeting its monorail system as further evidence of retaliation by the governor.
Iger publicly criticized DeSantis and the Florida government, noting that Disney has created hundreds of indirect jobs, attracts roughly 50 million tourists to Florida annually, and is the state’s largest taxpayer.
Stickers and clothing promoting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on a table ahead of a book tour event on the North Charleston Coliseum on April 19, 2023 in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Sean Rayford | Getty’s paintings
In an announcement released Thursday, DeSantis called the choice to shut the Lake Nona campus “not surprising.”
“Disney announced the potential for a campus on Lake Nona almost two years ago. Nothing got here of this project, and the state was unsure if it will occur,” the DeSantis office said in an announcement.
D’Amaro reiterated in his memo that the corporate still plans to speculate $17 billion in Florida over the following 10 years, including adding about 13,000 jobs. The corporate currently employs over 75,000 people within the state.
Disney declined to offer specific updates on the investment, but previously announced plans to update the park’s attractions, expand existing parks, and add more cruise ships to its Florida fleet.
“I remain optimistic concerning the direction of our business at Walt Disney World,” he told D’Amaro employees.