Disney Shuts Animation Studio in Florida

Walt Disney Co. on Monday shut its Florida animation facility that employed nearly 260 artists, as the firm moved to rein in costs and consolidate its animation operations in Burbank.

Feature Animation President David Stainton said the closing, which had been expected, was painful but necessary. “Having the entire animation group working together in Burbank under one roof will further enhance our filmmaking process,” he said.

Roy E. Disney, a former chairman of Disney’s animation department who quit the company’s board last month, said the closing was an example of “Michael Eisner’s de-emphasis of creativity and total indifference to the impact his decisions have on the people who helped make the company great.”

The company declined to comment on those remarks.