Florida in crisis as Disney announces 28,000 job losses
The Walt Disney company has sent America’s tourism industry into panic mode after announcing it is cutting 28,000 jobs across its US theme parks as the Covid crisis continues to ravage the travel business.
Disney had been seen as the great hope for reviving Florida when it re-opened its Orlando theme parks with reduced attendance of around 30 per cent in July.
But, with the company not even filling its lower-level capacity – and with its California parks unable even to convince the state government it is safe to reopen – it has resorted to permanently axing a quarter of its staff.
The news came as Disney's Magic Kingdom was announced the world's most eco-friendly tourist attraction, ahead of Sydney Opera House and Niagara Falls. But with losses passing the $4.7billion mark in July and no sign of visitor numbers improving, Josh D’Amaro, chairman of the theme parks division, said: “We have made the very difficult decision to begin the process of reducing our workforce.
“We’ve cut expenses, suspended capital projects, furloughed our cast members while still paying benefits, and modified operations to run as efficiently as possible. However, we simply cannot stay fully staffed while operating at such limited capacity. As heartbreaking as it is, this is the only feasible option in light of the prolonged Covid-19 impact on our business.”
D’Amaro added that the problems were “exacerbated in California by the state’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen.”
Disney’s news sent shockwaves through a travel industry already reeling from several million job losses since the beginning of the pandemic.
The national hotel association believes 2,500 hotels in Florida alone face foreclosure, with the loss of another 200,000 jobs, while various US airlines have already announced plans to shed 40,000 staff this month (October) as demand continues to fall.
The US Travel Association is currently lobbying Congress to support a new tourism stimulus package, estimating a $505billion downturn in travel spending this year, and the latest job losses have added extra insistence to the situation.
In a statement to leaders in Washington, the USTA insisted: “We urgently need congressional negotiators to quickly reach a deal that provides relief, protection and stimulus to all sectors of the industry. An economic recovery won’t happen on its own. Immediate, targeted and substantial relief is needed to restore travel industry jobs and put our nation on the path to recovery.”
Orlando remains the epicentre for job losses, with its unemployment rate hitting 16.5 per cent in June. That figure had come down slightly with a relaxation of virus restrictions through the summer, but, with barely 30 per cent of the usual traffic at Orlando International Airport and hotel occupancy struggling to reach that level, hopes for any short-term recovery are fading fast.
Florida’s governor had lifted all restaurant and small business restrictions last week in another effort to kick-start the state’s economy, but Disney’s massive job cuts will now come as a huge setback to that initiative.
