On Monday, Warner Bros. Discovery had a big night at the Emmy Awards. The company’s premium cable network, HBO, had the strongest night of any television outfit, claiming prizes in both the best drama (“Succession”) and limited series (“The White Lotus”) categories. And “Ted Lasso,” the Apple TV+ series produced by the Warner Bros. television studio, won for best comedy.
By Tuesday morning, painful business realities sunk in.
Roughly 100 employees at Warner Bros. Discovery were laid off on Monday, mostly from the ad sales division in the United States, two people with knowledge of the cuts said. After Discovery merged with WarnerMedia in April, executives pledged to find $3 billion in savings, and telegraphed that job cuts, particularly in duplicative areas like ad sales, would be coming. The company has a debt load of more than $50 billion.
Last month, HBO and HBO Max laid off roughly 70 staffers, which mostly affected the HBO Max unscripted and live-action family departments. And earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery pulled the plug on CNN+, which also resulted in a wave of cuts.
There will be additional rounds of layoffs in various divisions of the company over the next two months, the people said.
Warner Bros. Discovery is hardly alone. Netflix, HBO’s chief rival at the Emmys, also laid off several hundred staff members this year, after a loss in subscribers.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nytimes.com
