Disney employees who were ordered to relocate to a new campus in Florida from Los Angeles have filed a lawsuit against the firm after it scrapped its original expansion plans.
Following CEO Bob Iger’s return, the choice was made to undo the 2,000 personnel relocation. near 2021, Disney chairman of experiences Josh D’Amaro and then-CEO Bob Chapek revealed plans to relocate employees working on theme parks and resorts to a proposed office park near Lake Nona, Orlando.
Staff from Southern California were ordered to relocate, which made the move extremely unpopular even though it was meant to take advantage of Florida tax benefits. The Los Angeles Times reports that a few of those workers are currently suing the business due to the postponed relocation.
A number of employees sold their houses in Los Angeles and relocated to Central Florida, according to the lawsuit, which was submitted on Tuesday to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Maria De La Cruz and George Fong, the plaintiffs, claim they were told they might lose their employment if they didn’t consent to the relocation, and they both did so in November 2021.
Disney allegedly gave its affected employees ninety days to make a decision regarding the relocation, according to the lawsuit.
In May 2022, De La Cruz, a vice president of product design, sold her Altadena house.
“Mr. Fong also sold his home, which was a particularly painful decision because it was the family home he had grown up in and inherited,” as per the lawsuit.
A year after selling their houses, Disney called off the project.
“All current and former California Disney employees who relocated from California to Florida as a result of Disney’s announcement of the Lake Nona Project” are the target of the lawsuit, which is seeking punitive damages.
Due to the Sunshine State’s reduced labor expenses, Disney intended to save money on its $1 billion investment in the Lake Nona project in the future. The state’s tax credits for moving firms were another factor in the decision.
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The project was impacted, meanwhile, by the company’s subsequent culture war dispute with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. A month after Disney sued the state of Florida under the First Amendment, the project was shelved. Since then, the legal issues have been resolved, and Disney has stated that it will carry on growing in the state.
At Disney, significant cost-cutting measures were implemented concurrently with the cancellation of the Lake Nona project.
Disney released a statement in May 2023 stating, “We have decided not to move forward with the campus construction given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions.”
Although the lawsuit claims that the compensation packages were insufficient, the firm acknowledged at the time that some employees had already moved and stated that it would talk with each employee about the possibility of moving them back to the Los Angeles region.
A number of employees refused to leave the organization, according to the lawsuit, although some did stay on. Home prices in Orlando decreased once the plans were reversed, while since 2022, they have increased in Los Angeles.
As per the legal complaint, the financial condition deteriorated further due to higher interest rates.
The lawsuit claims that although Fong was able to purchase a property in South Pasadena, it is “considerably less square footage than his previous Los Angeles home.” De La Cruz is currently in the process of returning to California.
