Disney cancels plans for new office complex in Florida amidst disputes with state governor

Walt Disney theme parks chief Josh D’Amaro sent an internal email to employees on Thursday saying that the company “has been forced by changing business conditions to reevaluate their plans.” reports the Washington Post. It counted 2,000 workers who were to move to a new office complex by Lake Nona near Orlando, Florida, the construction of which was to cost 19 billion CZK.

According to the original plans, this investment was supposed to support additional local jobs and the state was supposed to receive money from the taxes collected, although at the same time Disney came in handy with an incentive of hundreds of millions of dollars over 20 years to build and occupy the complex. All of that is apparently over, as disputes between the company’s management and Florida’s Republican governor (and, according to estimates, a possible challenger to Donald Trump in the primaries) Ron DeSantis have not been resolved.

The original subject of controversy is Florida legislation that restricts the discussion of gender issues and sexuality in schools. The society loudly criticized the efforts of the state leadership not to discuss these topics with children.

The dispute moved to the business level when politicians restricted Disney – the state’s largest taxpayer – from freely managing its 25,000-acre property as if it were a county and gave more power to the state, resulting in a lawsuit by the media corporation due to alleged breach of contract. DeSantis said “woke Disney” shouldn’t be entitled to any special treatment in the state, referring to the demand to revoke Orlando’s self-governing powers.

DeSantis called the decision to cancel construction of the Walt Disney complex “unsurprising.” His press spokesman Jeremy Redfern added that although they learned about the construction of the complex at Lake Nona two years ago, “nothing ever came of the project and the state was not sure if it would happen.” On the other hand, the Democratic senator from Florida, Linda Stewart, considers the move “unfortunate”.

In March 2019, Disney embarked on the journey of streaming services. The Disney + platform is still loss-making after four years. Walt Disney’s profitability is ensured by the amusement parks it operates in total of 12. In its relations with the public, the company often describes itself as tolerant of minorities, including LGBT people, which is why it has become a vocal critic of the efforts of the conservative state leadership to moderate and limit the discussion of minority rights.