Disney Scraps Plans for New $1B Florida Campus
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Disney announced Thursday in an email to its employees that it is canceling plans to build a nearly $1 billion campus in Florida, citing the return of CEO Bob Iger and “changing business conditions.”
The Details: The construction reportedly would have relocated from California 2,000 high-paying jobs to Lake Nona, FL, roughly 20 miles from Disney’s park near Orlando. Reportedly, both Disney’s ongoing feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the reluctance of employees to move from California contributed to the company’s decision.
For Context: The announcement comes a week after Iger said Disney’s dispute with DeSantis made the company question its continued investment in Florida. DeSantis recently stripped Disney of the autonomy it enjoyed over its property near Orlando as part of a political feud with former CEO Bob Chapek over Florida House Bill 1557, which the media has dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Key Quotes: Josh D’Amaro, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairperson said in the email, “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 move forward.” A representative for Desantis said, “Disney announced the possibility of a Lake Nona campus nearly two years ago. Nothing ever came of the project,” and called its move to nix construction “unsurprising.”
How The Media Covered It: Sources across the spectrum covered the events similarly.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
Disney scraps plans for new Florida campus, mass employee relocation amid DeSantis feudDisney 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...
From the Left
Disney cancels plans for $1 billion Florida campusThe Walt Disney Co. is cancelling plans to build a nearly $1 billion office complex in Florida and move more than 2,000 jobs to the state.
Disney Parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro told employees in an email Thursday that the company had decided not to move forward with the massive office complex in Orlando because of "new leadership and changing business conditions."
The announcement comes a week after Disney CEO Bob Iger said an ongoing dispute with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis raised questions about the company's continued investment there. In a...
From the Right
Disney scraps plans to build $900M Florida campus, relocate 2,000 jobsDisney pulled the plug on a nearly $900 million development project in Florida that would have brought 2,000 high-paying jobs to the state because of “changing business conditions, the company said Thursday.
The stunning move comes amid Disney’s escalating feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after he dissolved the company’s longtime special district overseeing its Orlando-area theme parks – leading to warring lawsuits.
“Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?” Disney boss Robert Iger said on an earnings-related conference call with...
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