Disney drops plan to move 2,000 California workers to Florida amid fight

Employees who had already made the move will have the option of staying or moving back to California, the company said.

By Christopher Palmeri | Bloomberg

Walt Disney Co., embroiled in a high-profile fight with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, is dropping plans to relocate 2,000 California employees to a new corporate campus it was building in the state.

The company didn’t mention the dispute specifically in a note to employees Thursday, saying only that conditions had changed since the move was announced almost two years ago.

“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 with construction of the campus,” parks chief Josh D’Amaro said in the note to staff.

But the backdrop is the increasingly acrimonious fight with the Republican governor and presumed 2024 presidential candidate. DeSantis signed legislation that took control of a board that oversees municipal services at Walt Disney World after the company publicly opposed a state law limiting the discussion of gender issues in public schools.

The company has since sued, and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger has accused officials of being anti-business and anti-free speech.

Disney announced a new corporate campus in Lake Nona in July 2021, financed in part with a $578 million tax break from the state. Employees who had already made the move will have the option of staying or moving back to California, the company said.

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