Disney Halts Hong Kong Design Work and Cut Jobs

As reported by Bloomberg, The Walt Disney has halted all creative and design work on the expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland, leading to 30 job cuts and raising tensions with Hong Kong’s government. "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 staff were laid off after the Hong Kong government, which holds a 57% stake in Hong Kong Disneyland, told the company there is no timetable for the expansion of the theme park, the report said. 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. The theme-park operator said it still hasn’t reached an agreement with the government on an expansion plan after two years of investment and negotiations.

Hong Kong’s tourist arrivals will probably fall 1.6 percent in 2009 from a year earlier to 29 million, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. The park increased ticket prices by as much as 19 percent last month, the first adjustment since it opened.

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