PayPal cancels 400-job operations center in North Carolina over LGBTQ discrimination law
PayPal is canceling its transaction in North Carolina.
The online payment service announced Tuesday that it is nixing plans to open a global operations center in Charlotte in response to the state's controversial new law eliminating discrimination protection for LGBT residents and requiring transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond with the gender on their birth certificates.
Just two weeks earlier, PayPal revealed ambitious plans to hire 400 employees for the operations center and reportedly to invest $3.6 million on the expansion by the end of next year.
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"The new law perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture," Dan Schulman, CEO and president of PayPal, wrote in a blog post announcing the cancelled expansion plans.
"This decision reflects PayPal’s deepest values and our strong belief that every person has the right to be treated equally, and with dignity and respect."
The North Carolina discrimination legislation, signed into law late last month, quickly set off a firestorm of criticism throughout the business world.
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PayPal's decision to pull expansion plans goes a step beyond this rhetoric, depriving the state of significant jobs and revenue.
PayPal isn't the first technology company to take this extreme measure in response to controversial local legislation.
Salesforce moved to boycott sales in Indiana last year after the state passed a law giving businesses the right to turn away LGBT customers. Likewise, Angie's List cancelled its expansion plans in the state.
Technology companies have been particularly outspoken in recent years about defending LGBT rights and inclusion. Silicon Valley has criticized local laws, praised the Supreme Court's decision to make same-sex marriage the law of the land and enacted favorable corporate policies.
The goal: to preserve a progressive and principled brand that makes these companies more appealing to the millennial demographic and tech employees.
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Seth Fiegerman was a Senior Business Reporter at Mashable, where he covered startups, marketing and the latest consumer tech trends. He joined Mashable in August 2012 and is based in New York.Before joining Mashable, Seth covered all things Apple as a reporter at Silicon Alley Insider, the tech section of Business Insider. He has also worked as a staff writer at TheStreet.com and as an editor at Playboy Magazine. His work has appeared in Newsweek, NPR, Kiplinger, Portfolio and The Huffington Post.Seth received his Bachelor of Arts from New York University, where he majored in journalism and philosophy.In his spare time, Seth enjoys bike riding around Brooklyn and writing really bad folk songs.
