Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) cut more staff after cutting 14% of its HBO Max workforce in the summer.
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On Tuesday, the company’s television studio (125 jobs) cut 26% of its staff across its scripted, unscripted, and animation divisions — laying off 82 people and electing not to fill 43 vacant positions.
Not only this, but the media giant closed its digital production arm Stage 13 and the long-standing Warner Bros. Television Workshop that had been fruitful in producing new talent for 40 years.
HBO Max is set to be shut down, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter. In addition, Warner Bros. has reportedly made plans to lay off staff to cut $3 billion in costs over the next two years while also preparing for the merger of HBO Max with Discovery+. Chairman of Discovery Channing Dungey declined to provide further comment on the dismissals. In a company memo obtained by Deadline, he stated: Channing Dungey According to Variety, Warner Bros. is laying off staff as part of its cost-cutting efforts.
“These are challenging times in the world at large, and a tumultuous time in our industry. For this kind of change to hit so close to home is incredibly difficult. But my hope is that these changes, made with an eye to a more focused business strategy, will strengthen and stabilize our company, maintain our great creative output, and better position us for continued future success.”
The media giant reported a $3.42 billion loss in the second quarter because of several issues relating to its merger.
Warner Bros. Discovery has reduced its forecasts for adjusted EBITDA in 2022, from $10 billion to between $9 billion and $9.5 billion. It also slashed its full-year 2023 guidance from $14 billion to just $12 billion.
“[David Zaslav] has got to magically save $3 billion sometime in the next year,” Peter Kafka, the host of Recode Media, stated to Yahoo Finance Live.
“People will get laid off throughout the fall… it’s a lot of bodies that they have to process, and they have to find ways to save money,” Kafka added, pointing to the company’s falling stock price, which is currently hovering at 52-week lows.
“Wall Street is saying that the combined assets of your company and what was the premier media company in the world are now worth a lot less,” he said. “What can you do to make it more valuable?”
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