The Walt Disney Co. has delayed the move of employees from California to Florida over the late completion of the building on a new office campus, according to media reports.
The Burbank entertainment and media giant announced last July it would move about 2,000 positions from Southern California, including those with Disney Imagineering in Glendale, to a new campus in the Orlando community of Lake Nona in a bid to consolidate operations and promote collaboration among staff.
According to the Los Angeles Times, another aspect of the move was to take advantage of some $570 million in tax breaks.
A statement from a Disney spokesperson received by the Times and other media outlets said that while a growing number of employees who will work at the Lake Nona campus have already made the move to Florida, “we also want to continue to provide flexibility to those relocating, especially given the anticipated completion date of the campus is now in 2026.
“Therefore, where possible, we are aligning the relocation period with the campus completion,” the statement said.
The move was originally going to be completed next year.
The delay was first reported by WDW News Today, which covers Disney theme parks.
The planned move comes at a time of turmoil for Disney in Florida as the company opposed legislation passed by the state lawmakers and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis that bans teaching sexual orientation and gender identity instruction in kindergarten through third grade.
In response to the company’s stance on the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the governor signed a law revoking Disney’s self-governing status in the Orlando area. The revocation goes into effect next year.
On Thursday, shares of Disney closed down $1.60, or about 1.7%, to $94.28 on the New York Stock Exchange, on a day when the Dow Jones closed down 2.4%.