Thursday, the Walt Disney Company pulled the plug on long-gestating plans for a brand new office complex in Florida. The hub, which was scheduled to cost the House of Mouse nearly $1 billion and bring at least 2,000 new jobs to the region, would have been located in Orlando near Lake Nona.
The move comes amid mounting tensions between the company and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has seemed hellbent on limiting the power and influence the company has within the state.
According to the NY Times, just last month the company sued the Governor and right-wing allies for what it believed to be “a targeted campaign of government retaliation.” As the lawsuit was filed, Disney made it clear that any previously announced business endeavors in the state could suffer. They obviously were not bluffing.
Just last week CEO Bob Iger appeared very vocal against DeSantis’ odd “anti-business” approach to the company. “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?” he asked, during the most recent earnings call.
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The original memo with the announcement, which was also viewed by The New York Times, did not mention Mr. DeSantis as a reason for the decision. However, two anonymous sources who spoke to The Times said that Disney’s very recent and public battle with DeSantis and several other members of Florida’s Legislature reportedly “figured prominently” into the cancellation.
Now, while the main reason for the move seems to be to hurt DeSantis’, it isn’t without other victims. It was well-known that Disney had a plan to relocate hundreds to thousands of its own employees for the project.
As the news broke, some former employees took to Twitter to vent their frustrations with the cancellation. One person in particular said that, as much as he loved working for Disney, he had to quit because he did not want to make the move.
It’s unclear what will happen to those employees now, or if Disney is looking elsewhere to break ground on the new facility. As the company continues to undergo layoffs, it is possible that it decides to ditch the operation in its entirety.
Be sure to follow The DisInsider for more information on this story as it develops.
SOURCE: NYT
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