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Disney’s plan to bring new business to Florida is no more.
The outlet reports that D’Amaro told employees that the decision was not “not an easy decision to make” but “the right one.”
The decision comes amid a public battle between Disney and Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis. Also on Thursday, the companyannounced it would shut down its Galactic Starcruiser hotelat the Orlando resort just 15 months after the massive project opened.
In a statement toThe New York Times, Jerry L. Demings, mayor of Orange County, which includes the Lake Nona area, said: “These are the consequences when there isn’t an inclusive and collaborative work environment between the state of Florida and the business community.”
While D’Amaro also is reported to have said in his memo that the company plans to invest $17 billion in Florida over the next ten years, which would bring 13,000 jobs during the period, the cancellation of the Lake Nona project stops the immediate creation of 2,000 new jobs to the state of Florida.
AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
“Disney announced the possibility of a Lake Nona campus nearly two years ago,” the statement reads. “Nothing ever came of the project, and the state was unsure whether it would come to fruition. Given the company’s financial straits, falling market cap, and declining stock price, it is unsurprising that they would restructure their business operations and cancel unsuccessful ventures.”
Most recently, the company opposed the creation of a state measure that opponents have denounced as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which restricts classroom discussion around gender identity and sexual orientation.
Weeks afterDisney issued a statementsaying the bill “should never have passed and should never have been signed into law,” DeSantis began publicly rebuking Disney and asking state lawmakers to consider ending deals that allowed the company to operate a special governing district, which decides what gets built and runs the municipal-like services in the theme park areas, according to theAssociated Press.
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State lawmakers voted in favor of stripping the company of its control of the district, and DeSantis signed the measure into law in February. But Disney appeared to outmaneuver the governor when it quietly took back control of the district that same month.
Disneyrecently sued DeSantis, alleging retaliation — but the damage has gone beyond the legal world, with the continued fight with the company leadinghigh-profile Republicansto distance themselves from the man who was seen as a of a frontrunner in apotential matchup with Trump.
source: people.com
