Disney CEO Bob Chapek blows up California Governor Gavin Newsom at closed Disneyland; Sees Park closed at least until the end of the year – Deadline

Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom for keeping Disneyland closed despite the conglomerate’s proven ability to safely open parks and reopen support from unions representing nearly 100% of workers.

CFO Christine McCarthy said the company expects Disneyland to remain closed for at least the fiscal quarter – which ends December 31.

On a conference call to discuss the media giant’s fourth-quarter tax results, Chapek said the California move “decimates” small businesses in the local economy. The impact on Disney is brutal. Parks revenue fell 61% for the three months ended September and the company hit $ 2.4 billion for the division. It recently announced 28,000 layoffs in its US parks.

The opening in California is based on state guidelines on infection rates and moving averages that mark counties by color and make it easier for small parks to open faster than larger ones like Disneyland. Disney and other operators called the guidelines arbitrary. President Bob Iger has left a Newsom-led task force on economic recovery on delays.

“We are extremely disappointed that the state of California continues to keep Disney closed despite our proven track record,” Chapek said.

He noted that Walt Disney World opened in July at 25% capacity – based on the company’s initial “industrial engineering” estimate – but is now capable of operating at 35%. % of capacity while continuing to maintain social distancing guidelines and other protocols. The same was true in parks open around the world, which were also able to increase capacity while complying with local regulations. He said bookings were encouraging at open parks around the world.

Disneyland Paris recently closed its doors as Western Europe experiences a peak in COVID-10 infections. Hong Kong Disneyland had closed but reopened. Shanghai is open.

Chapek and McCarthy both noted that restoring the parks requires control of COVID and that it is not clear when that will happen, although reports of a new vaccine from Pfizer are promising. The company said Monday that trials showed its vaccine to be 90% effective. It could be approved by the FDA for emergency use before the end of the year. Other large pharmaceutical companies are also close. This news propelled Disney to its biggest single-day gain of nearly 13% on the day of the announcement.