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HONG KONG (AP) - Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday it has trimmed
about 30 jobs in Hong Kong as discussion with the local government
to expand its theme park remains uncertain.
The latest layoff also came a month after the Burbank,
California-based entertainment giant said it would shed an
unspecified number of workers amid the global financial turmoil.
Disney has been in talks with the Hong Kong government about
expanding Hong Kong Disneyland, which is a joint venture between
the two parties. Local media had reported the government, which
shouldered the bulk of the park's $3.5 billion construction cost,
is reluctant to invest more public money.
"After two years of Disney investment in creative and design
work and extensive negotiations with our partner, the Hong Kong
government, we have not yet reached a final agreement to expand
Hong Kong Disneyland," Leslie Goodman, executive vice president of
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said in a statement.
The layoff on Monday included about 30 Hong Kong-based employees
after the company suspended all creative and design work of the
expansion plan, Disney said in the statement.
Responding to Disney's decision, the Hong Kong government said
it is "puzzled" and urged the company to reconsider.
"We consider that The Walt Disney Company's laying off of Walt
Disney Imagineers who have been working on the design of Hong Kong
Disneyland's expansion will not be conducive to the discussions,"
a spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said
in statement emailed to The Associated Press.
APTV 03-17-09 0228EDT
about 30 jobs in Hong Kong as discussion with the local government
to expand its theme park remains uncertain.
The latest layoff also came a month after the Burbank,
California-based entertainment giant said it would shed an
unspecified number of workers amid the global financial turmoil.
Disney has been in talks with the Hong Kong government about
expanding Hong Kong Disneyland, which is a joint venture between
the two parties. Local media had reported the government, which
shouldered the bulk of the park's $3.5 billion construction cost,
is reluctant to invest more public money.
"After two years of Disney investment in creative and design
work and extensive negotiations with our partner, the Hong Kong
government, we have not yet reached a final agreement to expand
Hong Kong Disneyland," Leslie Goodman, executive vice president of
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said in a statement.
The layoff on Monday included about 30 Hong Kong-based employees
after the company suspended all creative and design work of the
expansion plan, Disney said in the statement.
Responding to Disney's decision, the Hong Kong government said
it is "puzzled" and urged the company to reconsider.
"We consider that The Walt Disney Company's laying off of Walt
Disney Imagineers who have been working on the design of Hong Kong
Disneyland's expansion will not be conducive to the discussions,"
a spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said
in statement emailed to The Associated Press.
APTV 03-17-09 0228EDT
