California Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking to take advantage of the Walt Disney Co.’s (NYSE:DIS) problems with Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation by inviting the company to relocate its Sunshine State jobs that were moved last year out of California.
What Happened: Newsom took to Twitter to lure Disney back to his state.
“Disney, the door is open to bring those jobs back to California - the state that actually represents the values of your workers,” Newsom tweeted, making a reference to the internal revolt by Disney workers that forced CEO Bob Chapek to jettison his public neutrality on the Don’t Say Gay legislation with a statement of denunciation.
Newsom’s tweet included a Los Angeles Times article documenting how many Disney employees were angry over Chapek’s acknowledgment of the legislation, which prohibits the discussion of sexuality and gender identity in Florida’s schools until after the third grade.
See Also: Analysis: Why Can't Disney CEO Bob Chapek Be More Like His Predecessor Bob Iger?
Why It Happened: The jobs that Newsom tweeted about were the more than 2,000 positions in Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products Division (PEPD) that the company shifted to Florida last July. At the time, the company praised Florida’s “business-friendly climate” as an environment to “support our expanding business.”
The exodus of Disney’s jobs was among the factors that spurred last year’s recall election of Newsom, which he survived. Newsom is up for re-election in 2022.
Photo: Gov. Gavin Newsom, courtesy of Gage Skidmore / Flickr Creative Commons
