Disney Cites 'Business-Friendly Climate' In Moving 2,000 California Jobs To Florida

Walt Disney Co. DIS is relocating more than 2,000 jobs from California to Florida, praising the Sunshine State’s “business-friendly climate” as an environment to “support our expanding business.”

What Happened: According to an internal staff letter obtained by Deadline, the California jobs being shifted across the country involve employees in the Parks, Experiences and Products Division (PEPD) who are not fully dedicated to the Disneyland Resort.

Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s PEPD chairman, said the job shift had been in the planning stages since 2019 and will involve a new facility located near Orlando International Airport, approximately 20 miles east of the Walt Disney World resort.

“This new project will create a dynamic environment to support our expanding business – a brand-new regional campus which will be built in the vibrant Lake Nona community of Orlando, Florida,” D’Amaro wrote in his staff letter.

“In addition to Florida’s business-friendly climate, this new regional campus gives us the opportunity to consolidate our teams and be more collaborative and impactful both from a creative and operational standpoint.

Related Link: Disney To Close All But One Of Its UK Stores: What You Need To Know, Guv'nor

Why It Matters: D’Amaro added the new Florida facility will be the workplace for “more than 2,000 Cast, Imagineers and employees … driving further collaboration and creativity and allowing us to better integrate our business and functional teams.”

The move is expected to 18 months to complete and the company will offer assistance to its employees that agree to change their residences to Florida.

Disney’s decision marks the latest example of California-based companies relocating portions of their operations out of state. This has been a key factor in the recall election of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is belatedly acknowledging the problem.

According to the San Francisco Business Times, Newsom told the attendees at the Bay Area Council’s recent 2021 Pacific Summit that the state needs to fight harder to keep its corporate residents.

“We need to step up our game – time to be more damn competitive,” Newsom said, adding it was “time for us to start dusting off, get our groove back and start focusing on what makes California such a special place, and why the California Dream is still alive and well.”