Online payments company PayPal says it has decided to scrap its multi-million dollar plan to open a center in North Carolina that would have created hundreds of jobs, citing its opposition to the state’s anti-LGBT law.
Dan Schulman, the chief executive of PayPal, said in a statement on Tuesday that the company feels compelled “to take action to oppose discrimination” after North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed the controversial bill into law.
“The new law perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture,” Schulman said. “As a result, PayPal will not move forward with our planned expansion into Charlotte. 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.”
PayPal announced last month that it planned to open a new global operations center in Charlotte that would have created more than 400 jobs as part of a $3.6 million investment. Schulman said the company will now seek an alternative location and remains committed to overturn the state’s new legislation.
The bill signed into law by Governor Pat McCrory late last month prohibits local anti-discrimination ordinances and obligates transgender students at public schools and universities to use only bathrooms that match their biological sex, which makes North Carolina the only U.S. state to do so.
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