Mass layoffs are reportedly in the works at Warner Bros. Discovery, the new parent company of the far-left CNN, with Discovery executives seeking to slash headcount as early as next week.
August had long been rumored to mark the start of the mass layoffs, with the first wave expected as early as next week as the honeymoon period for the recently merged media empire draws to an end, according to a report from Deadline.
Thousands of workers are reportedly expected to be impacted by the layoffs, which are expected to stretch through Thanksgiving.
The protracted period of pain comes as CEO David Zaslav cleans house amid a pledge to find at least $3 billion in savings. One of his first moves upon taking power this year was to shut down CNN+, the highly touted but little-watched brainchild of CNN’s Jeff Zucker, who was also ousted from his position this year amid record-low ratings and a sex scandal.
CNN+ was shut down after just a month of operation — a major embarrassment for the cable news network that positioned itself as a vociferously anti-Trump outlet under the Zucker regime.
Warner Bros. Discovery also canceled the TBS show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. The comedy show has long been a ratings under-performer, with its haranguing host making increasingly unhinged, radical-left pronouncements, such as calling Ivanka Trump a “cunt” and urging her viewers to harass Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
The shakeup has already begun in earnest at the Warner Bros. studio, with Toby Emmerich recently leaving as head of the motion picture studio. Warner Bros. executive and film division chief operating officer Carolyn Blackwood has also departed.
Earlier this year, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group chairman and CEO Ann Sarnoff left the company.
Deadline reported that big changes could also come to HBO Max streaming service. One possibility sees HBO Max being folded into a combined entity along with Discovery+. The streamer could also see a drastic cutback in its programming.
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