It seems like a never-ending battle between The Walt Disney Company and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The governor is currently traveling around the country before he announces his candidacy for President. The topic of Disney frequently comes up during his events, and the governor claims victory over one of Florida’s largest private employers. For its part, Disney is suing the governor, claiming that he is violating their First Amendment Rights by retaliating against them for speaking out against Florida’s Parental Rights Bill.
With everything going on between Disney and the governor, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro recently announced that the company was canceling its billion-dollar Lake Nona project. When DeSantis found out, he claimed that Disney was not moving forward with the project because its business was failing, mainly because the company is “woke”. However, Disney Guests and fans may not be so quick to agree.
D’Amaro recently spoke at the JP Morgan Global Technology, Media & Communications Conference and was asked if Disney’s feud with DeSantis has had any effect on the company’s business. D’Amaro was quick to say that it had not.
“It has not. As you’ve seen in our results, the progress we’ve made coming out of Covid has been exceptionally strong…We have new leadership in place. And No. 2, business conditions have changed pretty significantly, so taking that all into account, we said at this point in time we’re going to reverse that decision…We’re thinking pretty aggressively about where we can take things in Florida. I’m excited about what’s in store.”
On May 10, Disney held its second-quarter earnings call. During the call, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said that the company had earned $22 billion in revenue. Iger still wants to remain focused on the end financial game, so the company is continuing with its layoffs. The layoffs are part of an attempt for Disney to save $5.5 billion.
Despite the fight with DeSantis, Disney is still planning on investing $17 billion in Walt Disney World over the next ten years. They also plan on hiring thousands more Floridians to fill new roles.
