A new round of layoffs has hit Warner Bros. Discovery, though the number of employees affected in this wave is fewer in comparison to the sweeping cuts made across the David Zaslav-led company last year.
Sources tell Variety that nearly 1,000 employees will be laid off across a few sectors in a new cost-cutting move at WBD, including finance, business affairs, production and at streamer Max. The insider says the vast majority of the eliminations were in the finance division, with less than 10 Max staffers affected in total.
Not all employees included in the layoffs have been informed of the decisions at the time of publication.
Warner Bros. Discovery did not immediately respond to request for comment Tuesday.
These layoffs mark the most recent downsizing move at Warner Bros. Discovery brands, which shed thousands of employees in the months following the April 2022 closure of the merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia, which resulted in the new company. Layoffs continued sporadically throughout 2023, with more cuts amid rough quarters for WBD’s streaming business — and Hollywood’s streaming industry overall — as well as last summer’s WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, affecting HBO and Max in particular last August.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s combined HBO Max-Discovery+ streaming service Max launched May 23, 2023. Recently, the company has indicated a shift in its streaming vs. linear strategy, as several upcoming Max original series, including DC’s “The Penguin,” “It” prequel “Welcome to Derry,” and the “Harry Potter” TV adaptation have been rebranded as HBO shows and will get initial debuts on the cable channel.
WBD is expected to report its most up-to-date subscriber total across its streaming services when it releases its second-quarter earnings results Aug. 7.
Deadline first reported news of the layoffs.
Source Agencies
