WBD to eliminate up to 1,000 US jobs in another round of layoffs

Warner Bros. Discovery is implementing a new wave of layoffs as part of its continuing efforts to reduce costs in a weakened entertainment industry. 

These cuts will impact up to 1,000 staffers working in the US, mostly spanning the company’s finance, production and business affairs divisions. A handful of layoffs will also affect WBD’s Max team. 

Yesterday’s announcement comes one week after the studio eliminated 100 positions at CNN, representing 3% of the news network’s workforce. But WBD has made several previous rounds of layoffs since closing its US$43-billion merger two years ago, including cuts at Warner Bros. TV Group (125 staffers) and HBO and HBO Max (70 staffers), and the shutdown of its CNN+ business (350 staffers). 

WBD is set to report its second-quarter earnings on August 7 after the markets close. Last quarter, the company generated US$9.9 billion in revenue, which was down 7% from Q1 2023. Despite Dune: Part Two and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire both grossing more than US$1.2 billion at the global box office, a 70% drop in profits from WBD’s Studios division offset this theatrical growth.