Mass layoffs are reportedly underway at Warner Bros. Discovery, the new parent company of far-left CNN, with Discovery executives looking to cut staff as early as next week.
August has long been rumored to mark the start of mass layoffs, with the first wave expected as early as next week as the honeymoon period for the newly merged media empire draws to a close, according to a report by Deadline.
Thousands of workers are expected to be affected by the layoffs, which are expected to stretch through Thanksgiving.
The long period of pain comes as CEO David Zaslav cleans up amid a promise to find at least $3 billion in savings. One of his first steps after taking office this year was to shut down CNN+, the much-touted but little-watched brainchild of CNN’s Jeff Zucker, who was also ousted from his post this year amid record audiences and a sex scandal.
Trump on Wednesday celebrated the news that CNN Chairman Jeff Zucker had resigned over an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. https://t.co/0h5u2lrtdo
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 3, 2022
CNN+ was shut down after just a month of operation – a major embarrassment for the cable news network which has positioned itself as a vehemently anti-Trump media outlet under Zucker’s rule.
Warner Bros. Discovery also canceled the TBS show Full frontal with Samantha Bee. The comedy show has long been an underperformer, with its haranguing host making increasingly messy and hard-left statements, like calling Ivanka Trump a “pussy” and urging its viewers to harass Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
Samantha Bee, who infamously called Ivanka Trump “irresponsible c**t” and recently encouraged her viewers to harass a Supreme Court justice, has been canceled after seven seasons. https://t.co/Fxqwhrqo94
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 25, 2022
The reshuffling has already begun in earnest at the Warner Bros. studio, with Toby Emmerich recently stepping down as head of the film studio. Carolyn Blackwood, chief operating officer and director of the film division of Warner Bros., also left.
Earlier this year, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group President and CEO Ann Sarnoff left the company.
Deadline reported that big changes could also come from the HBO Max streaming service. One possibility sees HBO Max being folded into a combined entity with Discovery+. The streamer could also see a drastic reduction in its programming.
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