AP reporting Disney plans to relocate 2K professional employees from California to Lake Nona

[jade1]

I know were not talking 6 Figure jobs, but how much more do they pay in LA than Orlando on average?

A quick google looked crazy.

A salary of $110,000 in Orlando, Florida should increase to $190,934 in Los Angeles, California

 

[Marrila]

Apparently several Imagineers have been speaking anonymously that this move is being used as an opportunity to gut Imagineering yet again. If you don't take the move, your position will cease to exist in Florida.

Unfortunately plenty of companies pull this stunt.

I can't really see how they could possibly know this.
Disney may find enthusiastic new hires that aren't bothered to go where the job is.

 

[Jonfw2]

Apparently several Imagineers have been speaking anonymously that this move is being used as an opportunity to gut Imagineering yet again. If you don't take the move, your position will cease to exist in Florida.

Unfortunately plenty of companies pull this stunt.

So why not just eliminate the positions then? Moving them cross country is far more expensive.

 

[elmwyn]

I can't really see how they could possibly know this.

Really? In my experience there are not many people I know who were surprised when their company started downsizing. It tends to be the worst kept kind of secret.

So why not just eliminate the positions then? Moving them cross country is far more expensive.

Because having people "self select" out is a lot easier? Firing the entire Imagineering team, just to rehire those positions would be a logistical nightmare, possibly with a lot of legal issues, compared to just hoping a percentage decide not to make the trip.

 

[Suzabella]

I know were not talking 6 Figure jobs, but how much more do they pay in LA than Orlando on average?

A quick google looked crazy.

A salary of $110,000 in Orlando, Florida should increase to $190,934 in Los Angeles, California

Most companies aren't cutting salaries of people who take the move. They're making up for it with the people who don't go. It's more that they're getting away from the anti-business environment in CA. The cuts in payroll are just a bonus.

 

[jade1]

Most companies aren't cutting salaries of people who take the move. They're making up for it with the people who don't go. It's more that they're getting away from the anti-business environment in CA. The cuts in payroll are just a bonus.

I get that, just wondering if the pay comparisons above are accurate. That's substantial going forward.

 

[SuzErwin]

Most companies aren't cutting salaries of people who take the move. They're making up for it with the people who don't go. It's more that they're getting away from the anti-business environment in CA. The cuts in payroll are just a bonus.

The Walt Disney Company is still headquartered in Burbank, California. Over 8000 people will still be working in and around Burbank and Glendale.

This is a poorly disguised layoff.

 

[DLgal]

I know were not talking 6 Figure jobs, but how much more do they pay in LA than Orlando on average?

A quick google looked crazy.

A salary of $110,000 in Orlando, Florida should increase to $190,934 in Los Angeles, California

These are mostly 6 figure jobs being moved. And they are being told they will have to take pay cuts.

Those salary estimates are accurate. Los Angeles is about 85% more expensive to live in than Orlando.

However, Disney has a history of paying about 15% less than other companies. I have a friend who worked in Disney corporate in Burbank as a director level employee and he took a pay cut to work for the mouse, but eventually got fed up with the disparity and left for a higher paying job doing the same thing with another company.

One imagineer went public on IG with his decision to NOT take the relocation. He talked about how his whole life is here in CA (family, home, finances) and no matter how he tried to work it out, it was not feasible to move to FL.

I think this is going to be the case for a lot of these employees. A move to Central Florida from Southern CA is a big ask, just from a cultural/political point of view. The Disney company isn't doing much to entice these employees to take the relocation.

 

[MississippiMom]

This is pretty exciting news for the current college students who aren't tied down anywhere. Orlando sure would be cheaper to live in than Southern California, plus being in the middle of so much Disney would be a blast in their youth.

 

[AvidDisReader]

These are mostly 6 figure jobs being moved. And they are being told they will have to take pay cuts.

Those salary estimates are accurate. Los Angeles is about 85% more expensive to live in than Orlando.

However, Disney has a history of paying about 15% less than other companies. I have a friend who worked in Disney corporate in Burbank as a director level employee and he took a pay cut to work for the mouse, but eventually got fed up with the disparity and left for a higher paying job doing the same thing with another company.

One imagineer went public on IG with his decision to NOT take the relocation. He talked about how his whole life is here in CA (family, home, finances) and no matter how he tried to work it out, it was not feasible to move to FL.

I think this is going to be the case for a lot of these employees. A move to Central Florida from Southern CA is a big ask, just from a cultural/political point of view. The Disney company isn't doing much to entice these employees to take the relocation.

I have been following this and have seen nothing posted about paycuts if they relocate--can you please disclose where you saw this??
I was in a similar situation, worked for Big Company that decided to close my location to consolidate with one in the suburbs some 40 miles away. The non technical employees were all let go. The rest of us were guaranteed jobs at the new location, later I became friendly with one of those involved in this and they had estimated some 20% of those with the guaranteed jobs would not take the transfer. As it turned out it was approx 15%, BUT within ONE year 75% of those in the old location that had been guaranteed jobs had left the company. In fact, I remember talking with one of the other survivors some 5 years after the move and of the 120 that could of moved there were only 5 of us left. So yes, this is a move to pare down expensive employees to replace them with cheaper help.

 

[DLgal]

I have been following this and have seen nothing posted about paycuts if they relocate--can you please disclose where you saw this??
I was in a similar situation, worked for Big Company that decided to close my location to consolidate with one in the suburbs some 40 miles away. The non technical employees were all let go. The rest of us were guaranteed jobs at the new location, later I became friendly with one of those involved in this and they had estimated some 20% of those with the guaranteed jobs would not take the transfer. As it turned out it was approx 15%, BUT within ONE year 75% of those in the old location that had been guaranteed jobs had left the company. In fact, I remember talking with one of the other survivors some 5 years after the move and of the 120 that could of moved there were only 5 of us left. So yes, this is a move to pare down expensive employees to replace them with cheaper help.

The imagineer who I referenced mentioned this in his IG post. I don't remember his name. I heard about him in an article I read over the weekend. He had been with the company over 10 years and he said it was his dream job, but he couldn't make the relocation work financially.

 

[bsmcneil]

The imagineer who I referenced mentioned this in his IG post. I don't remember his name. I heard about him in an article I read over the weekend. He had been with the company over 10 years and he said it was his dream job, but he couldn't make the relocation work financially.

That felt like an especially frustrating story, to me. I know some other folks in similar positions (and if it's not you're choice, uprooting yourself/family/home, etc on relatively short notice is beyond hard).

 

[starry_solo]

I have been following this and have seen nothing posted about paycuts if they relocate--can you please disclose where you saw this??
I was in a similar situation, worked for Big Company that decided to close my location to consolidate with one in the suburbs some 40 miles away. The non technical employees were all let go. The rest of us were guaranteed jobs at the new location, later I became friendly with one of those involved in this and they had estimated some 20% of those with the guaranteed jobs would not take the transfer. As it turned out it was approx 15%, BUT within ONE year 75% of those in the old location that had been guaranteed jobs had left the company. In fact, I remember talking with one of the other survivors some 5 years after the move and of the 120 that could of moved there were only 5 of us left. So yes, this is a move to pare down expensive employees to replace them with cheaper help.

Nothing here about paycuts, but here is a recent Imagineer's article:
https://insidethemagic.net/2021/10/kevin-lively-imagineer-leaves-disney-ad1/
An older article:
https://insidethemagic.net/2021/07/lake-nona-disney-ad1/
Also, no way will Disney pay relocation expenses or the same high salaries that people are making in CA to those who make the move to FL. The entire purpose is to save money...

Not many people (employees) will publicly complain about their (former) employers' unwillingness to pay the same salary in a different state.

 

[middlechild]

There is a lot to consider before a move. I made such a move 10 years ago at the request of my employer. Just moved back this year when covid made working from home not only possible but demonstrably effective. One data source was the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which has data on cost of living in metropolitan areas.
https://www.bls.gov/cex/csxmsa.htmLA area had income above 86K on average, Tampa was at 62K using data reported from 2018-2019. Would love to keep LA wages in Orlando, would live like a king. But I believe Disney is doing the move, disrupting business for two or more years, for savings in many ways. My guess is that many won't move, depending on the job market to find employment elsewhere. Most people stay pretty close to home. Even changes for the good are difficult. We probably won't see any accounting on how many refused to go versus how many did. But the clean air alone in FL would be hard to pass up.

 

[DLgal]

That felt like an especially frustrating story, to me. I know some other folks in similar positions (and if it's not you're choice, uprooting yourself/family/home, etc on relatively short notice is beyond hard).

Moving, especially cross country is HARD and it can impact so much about your life. We are a military family who, by some miracle, only had to move our kids 2 times in 22 years. I know. It's almost unheard of. But the second move almost did my oldest son in, mentally, and I swore we would never do that again (and the second move was back "home" for him, but it was just too much change at a vulnerable age).

I often think about being put in a sitiation of potentially having to move again and at this point, we have agreed that it is NOT an option. We will do whatever it takes to stay put. Even a "dream job" wouldn't be worth moving away from where we are. I feel for these employees being told their jobs are relocating. It just sucks.

 

[bsmcneil]

Moving, especially cross country is HARD and it can impact so much about your life. We are a military family who, by some miracle, only had to move our kids 2 times in 22 years. I know. It's almost unheard of. But the second move almost did my oldest son in, mentally, and I swore we would never do that again (and the second move was back "home" for him, but it was just too much change at a vulnerable age).

I often think about being put in a sitiation of potentially having to move again and at this point, we have agreed that it is NOT an option. We will do whatever it takes to stay put. Even a "dream job" wouldn't be worth moving away from where we are. I feel for these employees being told their jobs are relocating. It just sucks.

Very similar circumstances here, sadly. It is hard. I really feel for the CMs who are losing their jobs.