Disney cancels its plans to build a new resort in Florida, amid dispute with DeSantis

() — Disney played a new card this Thursday in its battle against the governor of Florida, the Republican Ron DeSantis, and left the state without the 2,000 jobs that it would create with a new project.

Disney decided to cancel plans to build a $1 billion office complex in Florida, citing “changing business conditions,” according to a memo provided by a Disney spokesperson.

The decision comes as the company is engaged in a public confrontation with DeSantis, who is expected to officially launch next week in the race for the 2024 Republican Party nomination. reported on Thursday.

A DeSantis spokesman said it was not “surprising” that Disney canceled the project “given the company’s financial difficulties, its falling stock market capitalization and declining share price.”

Disney, like the media industry in general, is facing difficulties in the advertising guidelines market and is facing a massive writers’ strike. Earlier in the year, the company announced that it would cut 7,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting effort.

On the other hand, the company confirmed on Thursday the closure of its “Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser” resort at Disney World, just over a year after it opened.

The popular attraction “will have its last ride” at the end of September, Disney said. And he added that he is working with those who bought tickets for later dates.

The Lake Nona campus in the Orlando, Florida, metropolitan area was expected to create 2,000 jobs, many of which would relocate from California.

“It is unfortunate that Disney will not continue construction on the Lake Nona campus,” Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings said in a statement. “However, these are the consequences when there is not an inclusive and collaborative work environment between the state of Florida and the business community. We will continue to work closely with our valued partners at Disney,” he added.

The head of the state’s Democratic party criticized the governor’s “unhinged personal vendetta against Disney,” which cost Florida 2,000 jobs and millions in additional revenue.

“DeSantis has single-handedly and decidedly turned Florida into an anti-business state,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement. “Unfortunately, today’s news comes as no shock to those of us who have been living through his reign of terror, and Floridians are already paying a heavy price.”

Disney and DeSantis have exchanged statements for more than a year about controversial legislation the governor signed to restrict the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. Critics have labeled the law “Don’t Say Gay.”

The contention has intensified in recent months after DeSantis moved to rein in Disney’s special tax district by setting rules for and around Disney World. The governor has tried to install a handpicked board to oversee the district. Before the Florida government selected the board in February, Disney had reached agreements with the outgoing board that limited the power of those DeSantis appointees.

The two sides are now locked in a legal battle, with Disney arguing in its federal lawsuit that the actions of DeSantis and the state of Florida amounted to a violation of their First Amendment rights to free speech.

Last month, Disney CEO Bob Iger told shareholders at their annual meeting that he believed DeSantis’s actions to punish Disney, one of the state’s largest employers, were “anti-business” and “anti-Florida.”

And in a call with investors after his quarterly earnings report last week, Iger hinted that DeSantis and the Florida legislature were jeopardizing the company’s plans to invest $17 billion in Florida and create 13,000 jobs. , in the next 10 years.

“Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes or not?” Iger asked rhetorically during that investor call.

Following those comments, Disney did not respond to questions about whether it was changing those investment plans in Florida. The announcement on Thursday was perhaps a first step towards this change of direction.

Disney shares rose slightly after the announcement.

Steve Contorno and Chris Isidore contributed to this report.