Disney To Move 2,000 Jobs From California to Florida for Its 'Business-Friendly Climate'

By Jess Smith First Posted: Jul 16, 2021 08:03 AM EDT

The entertainment giant, Walt Disney Co., planned to move around 2,000 jobs from Southern California to their new facility located in central Florida.

The said move by Disney aimed to integrate operations and promote collaboration among staff. Disney has yet to identify the 2,000 positions or jobs that will be moved to the Lake Nona community.

Company officials stated that it would primarily involve employees in Disney's parks, experiences, and products division. Officials also revealed that the move to Florida has been in the works since 2019.

Moving Assistance to be Provided to Disney Employees

According to Los Angeles Times, the chairman of the Disney parks, experiences, and products division, Josh D'Amaro, stated in a letter to staff Thursday, July 15, that the expansion in Florida made sense for the company.

Aside from moving Disney's division to Florida in a new regional campus, which is a business-friendly climate, D'Amaro said the decision would give them the opportunity to consolidate their teams and be more collaborative and impactful both from a creative and operational standpoint.

Moreover, the chairman of the Disney parks, experiences and products division, and other Disney officials noted that the company based in Burbank was not abandoning Southern California, where its film and television divisions were situated.

Disney officials said that the 2,000 positions which were part of the relocation only represent lower than five percent of the total staff of Disney in California.

Disney officials added that there would be moving assistance offered to Disney employees whose jobs would be relocated to Florida. The moving process would take place over the next 18 months.

The announcement regarding the relocation came a month after Disney opened its new six-acre superhero-themed Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure Park.

Disneyland also opened its $1-billion Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, which was the largest expansion in the history of Disney parks, in 2019.

The Disney's Decision

The decision of relocating jobs from California to Florida has been made before the appointment of Bob Chapek as Disney's new chief executive in 2020.

Chapek replaced longtime leader Bob Iger who became the executive chairman of the board. D'Amaro was eventually promoted to take over Chapek's role of overseeing Disney's theme parks division.

Despite Disney's move to relocate its workers, company officials also mentioned that Disney would continue investing in its Anaheim parks. They added that there are still proposals to upgrade and renovate the resort within the existing 490-acre footprint.

The plan, dubbed as the Disneyland Forward, called for the addition of new attractions, eateries and shops into underdeveloped areas of the existing resort.

The plan specifically focused on two Disney hotels west of the theme parks and on the site of a parking lot east of the resort.

Disney currently has more than 60,000 staff members who are working in central Florida.

WATCH: Disney Moving Jobs From California to Lake Nona - From Fox 35 Orlando