PayPal Holdings on Tuesday US time canceled plans to open a global operations centre in Charlotte, North Carolina and invest US$3.6 million in the area after the state passed a controversial law targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens.
The digital payment company's protest is the first by a major business after North Carolina became the first state last month to enact a measure requiring people to use bathrooms or locker rooms in schools and other public facilities that match the gender on their birth certificate rather than their gender identity.
The law, which overturned a Charlotte city ordinance, was widely interpreted as an attack on LGBT rights. State lawmakers also voted to prohibit local governments from enacting anti-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
"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, chief executive officer said in a statement.
In a letter on 29 March, founders and chief executives of more than a hundred companies, including Apple, Twitter and Alphabet urged North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory to repeal the legislation.
Earlier in March the payment processor announced plans to open the operations centre in Charlotte and employ 400 skilled workers there. It was set to invest more than US$3.6 million in the Charlotte area by the end of 2017, according to a news release on the governor's website.
PayPal said it is now looking for another site for the centre and has not yet made a decision on location.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Bill Rigby)
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