WarnerMedia Lays Off About 600 In Likely 'First Round'

Following last Friday’s senior management restructuring under new CEO Jason Kilar, WarnerMedia on Monday laid off hundreds of employees.

The layoffs, described in various reports as likely a “first round,” are estimated total about 600 out of the company’s total workforce of about 25,000. 

They span the company’s TV and film businesses, and several senior executives, including Warner Bros. CFO Kim Williams, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution President Jeff Schlesinger, and Warner Bros. President, Worldwide Theatrical Distribution & Home Entertainment and Executive Vice President, International Business Operations Ron Sanders.

WarnerMedia’s Atlanta operation, which includes numerous cable TV and marketing staff, was among the hardest-hit, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In late June, WarnerMedia announced that it will sell the CNN Center building in downtown Atlanta, and move staff to other, “state-of-the-art” hubs in Atlanta, New York City and Culver City, California. At the time, the company downplayed the prospect of layoffs in Atlanta.

The layoffs and restructuring reflect the newly merged company’s revenue struggles as a result of the pandemic’s shutdowns of content production, movie theaters, and live sports, as well as a strategic shift to emphasis on the new HBO Max streaming business.

 

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