Skydance Offers Buyouts After $111 Billion Warner Deal

Skydance is providing voluntary buyout packages to selected staff members. This move follows the company's recent acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

David Ellison and co-Chief Executive Ynon Kreiz announced the program in a memo sent to employees on Monday. They noted that the integration process means some staff may not fit the new organizational structure. The company described the offers as one-time payments. It did not specify how many employees are eligible or how many jobs the program aims to cut.

The buyouts coincide with a return to in-office work. Skydance will require employees to be present in offices five days a week. The policy will roll out in phases by location. Ellison introduced a similar requirement at Paramount after Skydance acquired that studio last year.

The merger was completed on Oct. 6. It brought the Paramount and Warner Bros. film studios, CBS, CNN, and HBO under a single corporate umbrella. The combined entity now operates under the Skydance name. The deal totaled $111 billion.

Management is targeting $6 billion in cost reductions over the next three years. The first year of those savings will amount to $2 billion. Ellison stated that the bulk of these savings will come from technology, procurement, and real estate expenses. He indicated that workforce reductions would be a smaller component of the total savings.

An August report commissioned by the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity and the county Film Office estimated the merger could eliminate about 4,500 jobs in Los Angeles County over three years. Skydance has not yet disclosed the specific number of employees affected by the buyout program or future layoffs. A company representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.