A new report from Deadline revealed that Warner Brothers (WB) will be cutting 26% of its workforce and will be re-structuring its unscripted and animation divisions. The company is making cuts to its workforce by laying off 26% of their staff in an effort to reduce its costs by $3 billion after a recent merger.
“Today I write to you with sad news and a heavy heart. As many of you have already learned, some of our treasured colleagues will be leaving the company because of restructuring and realignment within our group. This was strictly a business decision, made as thoughtfully and compassionately as possible by studio leadership. But understanding that doesn’t make this moment any easier. These colleagues are more than just people with whom we’ve worked, they are part of our work family. We spend more time together than we do with most other people in our lives. Because of that, this loss is painful and difficult. For those impacted by the changes, I want you to know how grateful I am for your contributions – in some cases, spanning decades – and how deeply sorry I am.”, said Warner Brothers Television CEO Channing Dungey.
While workers have their personal lives disrupted and thrown into disarray by layoffs, the executives at Warner Brothers seem to be weathering the storm. CEO and President of Warner Brothers David Zaslav was compensated $246,573,481 in 2021 including $202,889,764 in stock options. The capitalist economic system pushes any adverse economic outcomes onto the workers while the oligarchs continue to amass fortunes and disingenuously lament about how sorry they are for the laid-off workers.