Deutsche Bank Halts North Carolina Job Expansion Plans Over Anti-LGBT Law

Image courtesy of Tony Webster

Following in the footsteps of PayPal, Deutsche Bank has announced it’s canceled plans to bring 250 jobs to North Carolina because of the state’s recently enacted law that restricts cities’ ability to offer protections based on sexual preference or gender identification.

Deutsche cited House Bill 2 in a statement on Tuesday as the reason for the move, saying it “invalidated existing protections of the rights of gay, bisexual and transgender fellow citizens in some municipalities and prevents municipalities from adopting such protections in the future.”

Deutsche announced in September that it was planning to create 250 jobs at its Cary, N.C. location by the end of 2016, notes the Charlotte Observer.

“We take our commitment to building inclusive work environments seriously,” John Cryan, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Bank, said. “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 US expansion plans for now. We very much hope that we can re-visit our plans to grow this location in the near future.”

After the bill was passed, a number of major businesses asked North Carolina’s governor to repeal it, including Facebook, Reddit, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. But last week, PayPal took things a step further by scrubbing recently announced plans to open new offices and hire 400 people in Charlotte.

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