Deutsche Bank says "nein" to North Carolina LGBT law
North Carolina is facing more fallout from its recent move to pass an anti-gay law.
Deutsche Bank (DB) on Tuesday said it would halt plans to add 250 new jobs in its Cary, North Carolina, location, citing state legislation enacted in march that blocks anti-discrimination rules for gay and transgender people.
The new law has "invalidated existing protections of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender fellow citizens in some municipalities and prevents municipalities from adopting such protections in the future," according to Deutsche Bank.
"We're proud of our operations and employees in Cary and regret that as a result of this legislation we are unwilling to include North Carolina in our U.S. expansion plans for now," John Cryan, co-chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank, said in a statement. "We very much hope that we can re-visit our plans to grow this location in the near future."
Deutsche Bank, which employs about 900 people at the software application development center in Cary, said it would maintain those staffing levels there.
In September, Deutsche Bank confirmed plans to add 250 jobs in Cary through 2017. The bank had also said it would invest $9 million in the center, according to a release touting the expansion put out by Gov. Pat McCroy, a Republican who took office in 2013.
On Tuesday, McCrory backpedaled some, with the governor issuing an executive order to expand the state equal employment policy to include sexual orientation and gender, along with affirming private businesses' rights to set their own bathroom policies.
He also said he would ask lawmakers to file legislation later this month letting people to sue in state court over discrimination, a right removed by the new law.
The move by Germany's largest lender follows in the footsteps of PayPal (PYPL), which a week ago pulled the plug on its plans to open a global operations center in Charlotte, North Carolina, that would have employed more than 400 people, with the online payments company citing the new state law.
Musician Bruce Springsteen has also cancelled a scheduled performance in North Carolina, while Jimmy Buffett criticized the law as stupid, but declined to cancel shows next week in Raleigh and Charlotte. Still, the musician said on his blog that future shows in the state "definitely depend on whether that stupid law is repealed."
Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) are among the other companies that have denounced the law, the state's response to a Charlotte City Council ordinance approved in February that would have extended protections to gays and lesbians, as well as bisexual and transgender people, at hotels, restaurants and stores. Charlotte also would have allowed transgender people to use restrooms aligned with their gender identity.
The law blocked Charlotte's rules and prevented other local governments from approving similar ordinances.
Atlanta's mayor has reportedly banned taxpayer-funded travel to North Carolina over the law, following similar actions by officials in states including New York, Connecticut, Minnesota and Washington. And Bruce Springsteen recently canceled a concert in North Carolina in protest.
"There's no doubt there is a well-coordinated, national campaign to smear our state's reputation after we passed a commonsense law to ensure no government can take away our basic expectations of privacy in bathrooms, locker rooms and showers," Josh Ellis, McCrory's communications director said Thursday in a statement.