Orlando has had a labor compensation problem for years and Disney has relied on people who moved to Central Florida to work specifically for Disney as their relatively low wages. When the COVID layoffs/furloughs hit, a number of people that hadn’t ever considered leaving the company were forced to find other employment - often better paid, within the industry they went to school for, and/or closer to “home.” At this point, my understanding is that every employee in QSFB, attractions, guest relations, transportation, and custodial have all been offered the chance to return. This clearly has left Disney in a tight spot where they need people now and are concerned they won’t find enough interested parties locally. Visit Orlando released their annual travel statistics yesterday and reported that 35 million visitors still came in 2020 despite it being the peak of the COVID crisis. Now, it’s a tourism based economy that’s roaring back to life like few other places in the country.
The Orlando labor market has gotten real exciting real fast. Even restaurants are offering sign on bonuses to new employees and posting signs on the front door to let you know they’re severely short staffed. Nearly every window through the tourism district has a now hiring sign in the window. While Disney has a strong affinity to cheap labor, DCP may be seen as their only way to get to the staffing levels they need in a reasonable timeframe.