The Walt Disney Co. said it is pulling out of a roughly $1 billion investment in Florida, citing “changing business conditions.” The media and entertainment giant announced the move amid a yearlong feud with the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, after Disney publicly opposed his bill to limit instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools.
In a memo sent to Disney employees, Josh D’Amaro, president of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, said the company is not moving forward with its plans to build a new Disney campus at Lake Nona.
The Lake Nona complex would have included several buildings employing 2,000 Disney workers who would have been relocated from California to Florida.
The decision to eliminate the Lake Nona campus also comes as Disney cuts more $5 billion in costs, with CEO Bob Iger looking for a “transformation.” But Iger recently reflected on an investor conference about his company’s frayed relationship with Florida, which led to Disney. sued DeSantis last monthalleging that the governor had overseen a “targeted campaign of government retaliation.”
“The State wants us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes, or not?” Iger reflected on the May 10 conference call.
Iger also noted that Disney is Central Florida’s largest taxpayer, bringing in more than $1.1 billion in state and local taxes last year.
In a statement emailed to CBS MoneyWatch, DeSantis’ office said Disney had announced “the possibility” of the Lake Nona project nearly two years ago.
“Nothing ever came of the project, and the state wasn’t sure if it would come to fruition,” the spokesman said. “Given the company’s financial difficulties, falling market capitalization and declining share price, it is not surprising that they restructured their business operations and liquidated unsuccessful businesses.”
The Lake Nona project would have added 1.8 million square feet of office space, and it was described by the Orlando Sentinel as “probably Orlando’s most anticipated development.” Most of the employees who were to be moved to Lake Nona work in Disney’s Imagineering department, which works on developing theme park attractions, the New York Times reported. reported
“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,” D’Amaro said in the email electronic “It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I think it’s the right one.”
