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Warner Bros. Eyeing 1,000 Layoffs

Warner Bros. Entertainment this fall may cut between 900 and 1,000 positions worldwide, according to media reports. Entertainment industry trade publication Variety citing sources familiar with the Burbank studio’s plans reported the cuts will be made in late October or early November. They could amount to 10 percent of its 9,000 employee workforce. Dee Dee Myers, the studio’s executive vice president of corporate communications, said the layoffs were driven by budgetary concerns, and no specific number has been set. “There is no head count target or percentage reduction target,” Myers was quoted saying in Variety. Word about potential layoffs at Warner Bros. surfaced earlier this month, which resulted in a memo to employees from Warner Bros. Entertainment Chief Executive Kevin Tsujihara confirming the cuts but giving no details. The layoffs are said to be triggered by pressure to cut costs from Jeff Bewkes, chief executive of Time Warner Inc., parent of Warner Bros. He has promised investors that the company can create more value by remaining independent and efficient. In July, Time Warner rejected an unsolicited $80 billion acquisition bid from media mogul Rupert Murdoch, an offer that Murdoch formally withdrew in early August. Time Warner share prices had increased after the takeover bid became public but then dropped more than 10 percent after Murdoch withdrew the offer. Turner Broadcasting System, the Time Warner division that includes CNN and TBS, previously announced it would offer buyouts to about 6 percent of its U.S. workforce.

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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