PayPal is abandoning plans to open a new global operations centre in Charlotte in protest at recently enacted legislation that nixes equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens in North Carolina.
PayPal announced the plans for the new facility two weeks ago in a move that would have created 400 new jobs in the state.
"The new law perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture," says PayPal president Dan Schulman. "As a result, PayPal will not move forward with our planned expansion into Charlotte."
He says that the company is committed to an anti-discrimination policy that is at odds with the proposed new rules, which were hastily passed in response to a civil rights ordinance in Charlotte that enabled transgender people to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity.
"As a company that is committed to the principle that everyone deserves to live without fear of discrimination simply for being who they are, becoming an employer in North Carolina, where members of our teams will not have equal rights under the law, is simply untenable," says Schulman. "While we will seek an alternative location for our operations center, 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."