The mega-merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery officially closed Tuesday, Oct. 6, creating a media giant known as Skydance.
Almost immediately after the $110 billion deal was finalized, company executives signaled layoffs are coming.
Variety obtained a memo that chairman and CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz sent to staff Tuesday morning, outlining their plans for the years ahead.
The two said layoffs will be part of the process, although they noted downsizing would be handled “respectfully.”
“Integrating two companies will bring change, including difficult decisions that affect our workforce,” the executives wrote. “We are committed to handling this process thoughtfully and respectfully.”
Related: Leadership Team Set as Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Nears Close
Layoffs had been expected if the deal survived a string of legal challenges. The question was how many jobs in the entertainment and news industries would be lost.
On Aug. 19, Los Angeles County officials released a study on the merger’s potential economic impact, estimating that approximately 4,500 local film and TV jobs could be lost as the companies combined operations.
“This report confirms what we feared: 4,500 direct film and television jobs… and $4.06 billion in business output are at risk,” said county Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath.
When businesses that support production were factored in — like prop houses, truck rental companies, restaurants, caterers and dry cleaners — the report estimated that 10,360 job years were at risk. One job year means one full-time job lasting one year.
It’s unclear how many jobs in other states might also be affected — with many of Skydance’s brands headquartered in New York and Paramount owning 27 local television stations around the country.
The merged company includes Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, BET Media Group, CNN Worldwide, CBS News, HBO Max, Paramount+, CBS Studios, TNT, Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, Smithsonian Channel, OWN, Magnolia Network, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.
The company could potentially look at redundances in departments like human resources; marketing; between BET and OWN, which both serve Black audiences; or in the syndicated entertainment news space, with Skydance now owning Paramount’s Entertainment Tonight and Warner Bros.’ Extra.
Deadline reported Skydance’s credit rating was cut Tuesday because of the merged company’s $80 billion in debt.
Last month, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani blasted the decision clearing the way for the merger as a “shameful monument to corruption.”
“This merger strikes a chilling blow against that freedom — and hands even more power to billionaires like David Ellison to decide what Americans see and hear, all while lifting scrutiny off the federal leaders who pushed it through,” Mamdani said in a statement on Sept. 22.
In a statement Tuesday, Skydance said its goal is to “build the next-generation global media and entertainment company powered by creativity and technology.”
Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, launched Skydance Productions in 2006. The company later expanded into Skydance Media.
Skydance’s roughly $8 billion acquisition of Paramount closed in August 2025.
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