Disney delaying relocation of employees from California to Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Walt Disney Company said the timeline to move around 2,000 high-paying jobs from California to Orlando, Florida's Lake Nona community has been delayed. While the company originally said it planned to complete the transfer by the end of 2022, that date is now 2026. 

A statement from Disney read, "While a growing number of our employees, who will ultimately work at the campus, have already made the move to Central Florida, we also want to continue to provide flexibility to those relocating, especially given the anticipated completion date of the campus is now in 2026." 

News of the delay comes after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers voted to get rid of Disney’s decades-old special tax district in Orange County, known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

That move was in response to Disney’s CEO speaking out against the Parental Rights in Education law, also known as the "Don’t Say Gay" law. 

"I think it’s a combination of a few things. They’re moving people from across the country. I know there’s been a little bit of pushback on that. I think they have got to get those numbers in a row," said FOX Business contributor Gary Kaltbaum. "I just think sometimes, things do take time, you take a step back as a business. You have issues with inflation, the economy." 

State Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, who sponsored the bill to dissolve Disney’s special district said he doesn’t have any information Lake Nona project’s delay. 

FOX 35 News also reached out to the Governor's Office and the Orange County Mayor’s Office, but we did not hear back before this story was published.