'Not an easy decision': Disney scraps plan for $1 billion campus in Florida

American multimedia conglomerate Walt Disney Co. has scrapped its plans to build a $1 billion corporate campus in Florida amidst an ongoing legal battle with Florida Governor Ron De Santis. The campus was to accommodate 2,000 employees. 

The employees received the information via email, with Disney Parks Chief Josh D’Amaro citing “new leadership and changing business conditions” as the reason for scrapping the 2021 plan, Reuters reported.

The company was expected to spend around $864 million on the campus, pulling 2000 of its employees and Imagineers from California to the campus in Lake Nona Community in Orlando, Florida. The camp would house the employees and serve as a base for Walt Disney Imagineering and the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Division. 

The plan received pushback from employees, who were reluctant to move cross country to Florida. 

"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 wrote in the email.

"This was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one," he added.

The cancellation comes amidst Disney’s back and forth with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has been openly attacking the company calling it a “woke corporation”. 

Disney landed in hot waters with DeSantis when Bob Chapek, then Disney CEO, criticised Florida’s legislation limiting discussions on gender identity and sexuality in elementary schools. DeSantis then stripped Disney of its long-standing self-governing power over Walt Disney World in Orlando, stating that the “woke” corporation should not receive special treatment. Perceiving the move as political retaliation, Disney sued the state last month. 

Despite the scuffle with DeSantis, Disney has expressed keen interest in further establishing its footprint in the Florida ecosystem, where it has maintained a presence for over five decades as a tourist attraction. 

Responding to the Governor’s brazen attacks aimed at the company, Disney CEO Bob Iger questioned the state’s interest in working with the company. 

"Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes, or not?" Iger asked in a call with Wall Street Analysis. 

Highlighting Disney’s contributions towards Florida, Iger said that the company employed more than 75,000 people. It was also the state’s premier tourist attraction, with Walt Disney World attracting millions of visitors yearly. The CEO added that the company plans to invest $17 billion to expand the resort.