One of America’s biggest media company, WarnerMedia is cutting some 1,200 jobs as the company struggles to cope with the downturn in the entertainment industry caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. 

WarnerMedia has taken this drastic action as the pandemic-ravaged entertainment industry struggles with steep drops in revenue. It has been reported that the cuts at WarnerMedia are expected to be in the order of between five per cent to seven per cent of its 25,000 direct employee roster.

Jason Kilar, WarnerMedia chief executive officer, announced the staff cuts in a memo Tuesday (November 10) and planned to address employees in a town hall Wednesday afternoon. The cuts are expected to hit WarnerMedia’s North American business units the hardest and are being implemented as part of its ongoing reorganisation.

This reorganisation is aimed at reducing operating costs, given the contraction in the entertainment business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Information reaching Our Today is that WarnerMedia intends to restructure and reorient its business around streaming. This way the company intends to keep itself afloat and ride through the global pandemic.

The staff cuts come as no surprise as Kilar, days after assuming leadership of WarnerMedia, announced in August a comprehensive reorganisation that would consolidate its content divisions under Warner Brothers chief, Ann Sarnoff.

KILAR MEMO TO STAFF

In his note to staff Tuesday, Kilar acknowledged the uncertainty that has hung over the heads of many WarnerMedia employees since August.

In the memo the WarnerMedia, the CEO wrote: “While I anticipate that organisationally, things will settle down materially in the weeks and months to come we’ve worked hard to make this a process with a beginning, middle and an end.”

Layoffs have been rolling through WarnerMedia since August. In Los Angeles County alone, Warner Brothers Entertainment cut 550 jobs but more sizable cuts were expected as part of the reorganisation. As part of the reorganisation, the company is to reorient around newly launched streamer HBO Max.

DP