David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz say there will be 'difficult decisions that affect our workforce' Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery have officially merged into Skydance Corp. And the top leaders have notified the new company’s staffers that layoffs are in the offing.
David Ellison, chairman and CEO, and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz (formerly chief exec of Mattel) sent a memo to employees at the combined company Tuesday morning around 9:40 a.m. ET after the deal closed outlining the operating philosophy of Skydance — and its goals in the years ahead. The duo acknowledged that layoffs will be part of the process.
The company has not revealed at this point the extent of the job cuts it expects. According to a report issued by Los Angeles County in August, the merger could result in the loss of some 4,500 film and TV jobs over three years in L.A. alone. However, overall, Ellison and Kreiz sounded an upbeat note, telling the troops that together they will “build the next-generation media and entertainment company, powered by creativity and technology.
The goal was never simply to add more production capacity, brands or IP. It was to unite the talent, resources and capabilities of these companies into a stronger competitor, one with the scale to take on the biggest players in our industry.” “Together, we will give these iconic studios the opportunity to win for generations to come,” the execs wrote in the 1,705-word memo, which has the subject line “Day 1.” Today we begin an exciting new chapter as Skydance. Getting here has been quite a journey.
Over the past year and beyond, it has taken hard work, perseverance and commitment with many challenges along the way – but we did it! To everyone at both companies who helped get us to this moment: thank you. Thank you for your patience, your resilience and, above all, your belief in what we could accomplish together.
Bringing Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery together fulfills a vision that began with Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount: to build the next-generation media and entertainment company, powered by creativity and technology. Together, we will give these iconic studios the opportunity to win for generations to come.
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