The Walt Disney Company is making a significant change to where many of its workforce in the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products division works. This week it announced that it will be moving a 2000 cast member from this team to a new facility in Florida that is near Walt Disney World Resort.
“I want to share news about an exciting project that has been in various stages of planning since 2019,” wrote Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Division, in a letter to staff. “This new project will create a dynamic environment to support our expanding business – a brand-new regional campus which will be built in the vibrant Lake Nona community of Orlando, Florida.”
“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 both from a creative and operational standpoint,” he continued.
According to D’Amaro, the new campus will house “more than 2,000 Cast, Imagineers and employees,” the letter continued – “driving further collaboration and creativity and allowing us to better integrate our business and functional teams.” The 2,000 jobs that are moving make up less than 5% of Disney’s staff in California.
The move is expected to take approximately 18 months. Employees who are impacted by the move will also be offered moving assistance. D’Amaro also emphasized that Disney continues to be committed to Southern California and its investment in Disneyland Resort.
The new campus in Florida will be near the Orlando International Airport. This is approximately 20 miles east of Walt Disney World Resort which will be celebrating its 50-anniversary starting on October 1, 2021. At this time, specific employees that will be relocating haven’t been entirely determined. D’Amaro did state that “we expect most Southern California-based DPEP (Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products) professional roles that are not fully dedicated to Disneyland or, in some cases, the international parks businesses will be asked to relocate to this new Florida campus.”
At this point it isn’t known how much of Imagineering and other departments will be impacted by this move. What is known is that this has been in the works for a couple of years. The move began to be planned in 2019 when Bob Chapek was Chairman Parks, Experiences and Products and Bob Iger was still CEO of The Walt Disney Company. Since then, Josh D’Amaro has been promoted to Chapek’s former role and Iger has become Executive Chairman for Disney and will soon be retiring.
What do you think about Disney moving these jobs to Florida? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
