"In a statement Tuesday, the company partly pointed the finger at California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who has kept bans on large public gatherings in place in his state. The situation, it said, was “exacerbated in California by the State’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen.”

The comment is an about-face from a perceived coziness between Newsom and the company’s leaders, including executive chair Bob Iger, at the start of the pandemic. Newsom for a short time exempted Disneyland from the restrictions and called the parks a “nation-state” in explaining the leniency.

Disney is eager for a California reopening because the parks there do not rely on outside travel nearly as much as its Florida business.

Newsom, though, warned several days ago of another infection surge and said a further lockdown of businesses could be coming if matters do not improve; he also said school reopenings could be affected.

At least one expert believes that Disney’s announcement Tuesday was as much a leverage-seeking move aimed at Newsom as it was a substantive reduction.

“Everything Disney does is for a strategic reason,” said Scott Smith, a professor at the University of South Carolina’s College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management who closely follows the theme-park industry."

“If a lot of these are people part timers who are very seasonal and they’re just not having their hours picked up, it may not be as drastic as it sounds. But it grabs headlines, and that’s useful to Disney," he said. “Because they want a plan from the governor of California so they can at least get started with reopening. It puts some subtle pressure — or not-so-subtle pressure — on him to do something.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/09/29/disney-lays-off-28000-coronavirus-slams-its-theme-park-business/