State of Florida Inadvertently Claims That Florida is Terrible for Investment: “It is Unsurprising That They Would Restructure” and “Cancel Unsuccessful Ventures.”
The Walt Disney Co. has decided to cancel its plans for a nearly $1 billion office complex in Florida and the relocation of over 2,000 jobs to the state. According to an email sent by Disney Parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro to employees, the company made this decision due to "new leadership and changing business conditions." This announcement comes shortly after Disney CEO Bob Iger expressed concerns about the ongoing dispute between Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, which raised doubts about the company's future investments in the state. Iger described the actions taken by DeSantis and Republican lawmakers as a form of "government retaliation" against Disney.
The friction between Disney and the Florida government stems from a bill signed by Governor DeSantis last year. This bill revoked Disney's self-governing authority over its expansive 40-square-mile property near Orlando. The decision to strip Disney of this authority came after former Disney CEO Bob Chapek had pledged support for overturning a state law that prohibited discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. In a recent conference call with analysts, Iger expressed his concerns about the situation, posing the question of whether the state truly desired Disney to invest more, create more job opportunities, and contribute more in taxes or not.
In summary, due to changes in leadership and shifting business conditions, The Walt Disney Co. has decided to cancel its plans for the construction of a large office complex in Florida and the relocation of thousands of jobs to the state. The decision follows an ongoing dispute between Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, which Disney's CEO Bob Iger characterized as a "campaign of government retaliation." The dispute arose after Governor DeSantis signed a bill revoking Disney's self-governing authority over its property near Orlando, in response to Disney's support for overturning a state law regarding discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
In response, the official spokesman for Ron Desantis claimed in an offivial statement for the state of Florida that “Disney announced the possibility of a Lake Nona campus nearly two years ago. Nothing ever came of the project, and the state was unsure whether it would come to fruition”. Following this, it was then said that “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.”
Inadvertently, the State of Florida has seemingly acknowledged that the State of Florida is becoming less attractive for businesses to invest in, and not just that, but it’s unsurprising to Florida that companies are struggling there, whilst not necessarily in other states. This comes after a long line of companies doing worse off within the state of Florida and will likely signal throughout the future that Florida is fundamentally not a good state for companies to invest their money into. This also comes in the aftermath of the state of Florida passing a new immigration bill SB 1718, which has caused a mass migration of illegal aliens out of the state and will also likely go on to hurt the state economically even further. Despite the inherent irreversible damage to the state of Florida, and the likelihood of republicans losing power due to the devastation they have unwittingly caused, Republicans have at large staunchly refused to criticize Desantis, despite the contradictory nature of their refusal to condemn.