400 Jobs Would Have Been Created by $9 Billion Corporation
PayPal will not be expanding into North Carolina. The $9 billion multi-national financial services corporation Tuesday announced that “as a result” of Governor Pat McCrory signing an anti-LGBT bill into law last month, it has canceled plans “to open a new global operations center in Charlotte and employ over 400 people in skilled jobs.”
The company cites “legislation [that] has been abruptly enacted by the State of North Carolina that invalidates protections of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens and denies these members of our community equal rights under the law.”
It says HB2 “perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture. As a result, PayPal will not move forward with our planned expansion into Charlotte.”
The company, which was founded in 1998, says its decision is “a clear and unambiguous one” which “reflects PayPal’s deepest values and our strong belief that every person has the right to be treated equally, and with dignity and respect. These principles of fairness, inclusion and equality are at the heart of everything we seek to achieve and stand for as a company. And they compel us to take action to oppose discrimination.”
The statement, signed by PayPal President and CEO Dan Schulman, says “becoming an employer in North Carolina, where members of our teams will not have equal rights under the law, is simply untenable.” He adds, “we remain committed to working with the LGBT community in North Carolina to overturn this discriminatory legislation, alongside all those who are committed to equality.”
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