According to an article published in the Orlando Sentinel, the Walt Disney Company has delayed plans to move nearly 2,000 high-paying jobs to Orlando from their corporate headquarters in California.
The speculation regarding this move started back in early 2021, with confirmation of the plans surfacing in July.
The relocation process was supposed to take place over 18 months but has now reportedly been delayed until 2026.
Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said Wednesday the expected opening date for the Lake Nona campus was pushed to 2026 to ‘give people more time’ and accommodate the construction timeline for the new offices. A Disney representative previously told the Orlando Sentinel the offices were expected to be operating in Orlando by December 2022. Wahler said the dispute with DeSantis had nothing to do with the delay.
When existing affected cast members within the company were informed of the relocation, they were given 3 months to make their decision on whether or not to make the cross-country move and according to the Sentinel’s article, many were hesitant.
Around 90% of the affected jobs are in Imagineering, the company’s main creative design division, Disney analyst Jim Hill told the Orlando Sentinel in November.