Bob
Iger,
chairman
and
chief
executive
officer
of
The
Walt
Disney
Company,
pauses
while
speaking
during
an
Economic
Club
of
New
York
event
in
Midtown
Manhattan
on
October
24,
2019
in
New
York
City.

Drew
Angerer
|
Getty
Images



Disney

has
abandoned
plans
to
open
up
a
new
employee
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,
chairman
of
Disney’s
parks,
experiences
and
products
division,
penned
a
memo
to
employees
Thursday,
announcing
that
the
company
will
not
move
forward
with
construction
of
the
campus
and
will
no
longer
be
asking
more
than
2,000
California-based
employees
to
relocate
to
Florida.

“This
was
not
an
easy
decision
to
make,
but
I
believe
it
is
the
right
one,”
D’Amaro
told
employees.

Disney scraps plans for new Florida campus and cancels mass employee relocation


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now

Many
Disney
employees
balked
at
the
company’s
relocation
plans
when
they
were
first
announced
in
July
2021
by
former
CEO
Bob
Chapek.
While
some
left
the
company,
or
transitioned
to
other
posts
within
Disney
that
would
not
require
a
move
to
Florida,
others
held
out
hope
that
the
plan
would
fizzle
out
after
a
postponement.
The
campus
was
originally
slated
to
open
in
2022-2023,
but
was
later
delayed
to
2026.

Disney
is
headquartered
in
Burbank,
California,
but
operates
a
number
of
satellite
offices
across
the
country
and
the
world.

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brings
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under
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peeks,
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and
more.

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La
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Entertainment
Content
|
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Images

D’Amaro
said
employees
who
have
already
moved
to
Florida
may
be
able
to
relocate
back
to
California.

“It
is
clear
to
me
that
the
power
of
this
brand
comes
from
our
incredible
people,
and
we
are
committed
to
handling
this
change
with
care
and
compassion,”
he
said.

Disney’s
announcement
comes
amid
a
bitter
feud
between
the
company
and
Florida
Gov.
Ron
DeSantis.

The
company
filed
a
lawsuit
accusing
DeSantis

and
the
new
board
members
of
its
special
district
of
carrying
out
a
campaign
of
political
retribution
against
the
entertainment
giant.

DeSantis
targeted
Disney’s
special
district,
formerly
called
the
Reedy
Creek
Improvement
District,
after
the
company
publicly
criticized
a
controversial
Florida
bill

dubbed
“Don’t
Say
Gay”
by
critics

that
limits
discussion
of
sexual
orientation
and
gender
identity
in
classrooms.

The
special
district
has
allowed
the
entertainment
giant
to
effectively
self-govern
its
Orlando
parks’
operations
for
decades.
The
district
was
ultimately
left
intact,
but
its
five-member
board
was
replaced
with
DeSantis
picks
and
renamed
the
Central
Florida
Tourism
Oversight
District.

Disney
filed
its
suit
in
late
April
after
the
new
board
voted
to
undo
development
contracts
that
the
company
said
it
struck
to
secure
its
investments.
The
company
has
since
updated
that
lawsuit
to
include
newly
passed
legislation
targeting
its
monorail
system

as
further
evidence
of
retaliation
by
the
governor.


Iger
has
publicly
lambasted
DeSantis

and
the
Florida
government,
noting
that
Disney
has
created
thousands
of
indirect
jobs,
brings
around
50
million
visitors
to
Florida
every
year
and

is
the
state’s
largest
taxpayer
.

Stickers
and
apparel
promoting
Florida
Governor
Ron
DeSantis
sit
on
a
table
before
a
book
tour
event
at
the
North
Charleston
Coliseum
on
April
19,
2023
in
North
Charleston,
South
Carolina. 

Sean
Rayford
|
Getty
Images

In
a
statement
later
Thursday,
representatives
for
DeSantis
called
the
decision
to
nix
the
Lake
Nona
campus
“unsurprising.”

“Disney
announced
the
possibility
of
a
Lake
Nona
campus
nearly
two
years
ago.
Nothing
ever
came
of
the
project,
and
the
state
was
unsure
whether
it
would
come
to
fruition,”
DeSantis’
office
said
in
the
statement.

D’Amaro
reiterated
in
his
memo
that
the
company
still
plans
to
invest
$17
billion
in
Florida
over
the
next
10
years,
including
the
addition
of
around
13,000
jobs.
The
company
currently
employs
more
than
75,000
people
in
the
state.

Disney
declined
to
provide
specific
updates
on
that
investment,
but
has
previously
announced
plans
to
update
park
attractions,
expand
existing
parks
and
add
more
cruise
ships
to
its
fleet
in
Florida.

“I
remain
optimistic
about
the
direction
of
our
Walt
Disney
World
business,”
D’Amaro
told
employees.