Disney moves 2,000 jobs from California to ‘Florida’s business-friendly climate’

In a letter to employees, Josh D'Amaro, the chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, said: "Florida is known for its rich culture of hospitality and active lifestyle as well as a lower cost of living with no state income tax."

D'Amaro added: "In addition to Florida's business-friendly climate, this new regional campus gives us the opportunity to consolidate our teams and be more collaborative and impactful from both a creative and operational standpoint."

Disney is just the latest large company to leave California. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently acknowledged the exodus out of the Golden State, saying: "We need to step up our game — time to be more damn competitive."

Although D'Amaro says the move had been planned for some time, Disney CEO Bob Chapek had previously slammed Newsom's lockdown restrictions, which kept Disneyland closed, as "arbitrary," while Disney's Florida theme parks had been allowed to re-open months prior.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is praising the announcement from Disney: "We are excited to have Disney expand here with high-paying jobs in Central Florida and into Orlando's Lake Nona community, spurring further investment in our city.”

The move to Florida is expected to take 18 months.