The Warner Bros logo is seen during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, June 22, 2022. REUTERS
LOS ANGELES, July 30 (Reuters) – Warner Bros Discovery will lay off roughly 10% of its motion picture group employees as part of a restructuring before the company splits in two, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
The cuts will take place in marketing, distribution, production and other units. The source did not disclose how many people would be affected.
In a memo to staff, Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca said company leadership had started reviewing the film group’s operations in early 2025.
They concluded they needed to make changes to “transform our business as we transition from a US Home Office/International model to a fully global structure,” the memo said.
Media companies are remaking themselves to better compete in the streaming TV era. Warner Bros Discovery has announced plans to separate into two publicly traded companies.
One called Warner Bros will house the film group and the HBO Max streaming service. Cable channels including CNN and TNT and the Discovery+ streaming service will become part of a company called Discovery Global.
The Warner Bros film division endured high-profile flops in 2024 including “Joker: Folie A Deux” and “Furiosa.” The studio has rebounded this year with hits including “A Minecraft Movie,” “Sinners” and “Superman.”
Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Mary Milliken and Sandra Maler
