David Zaslav hasn’t wasted time in making significant changes at WarnerBros Discovery and many on this side of the Atlantic are now wondering what happens in the international ranks, where the combined studios have thousands of staff.Even before WarnerMedia and Discovery closed their $43BN merger on Friday, the axe had fallen on the former’s U.S.
C-suite.Last week’s top level cull of U.S. staff could save north of $70M, one studio insider estimates to us. That’s just the start of cost-saving efforts designed to squeeze $3BN out of the new operation, according to forecasts Discovery gave to Wall Street.
Note that $3BN in savings is a lot higher than Disney promised Wall Street when it inhaled Fox, a merger which led to swathes of staff cuts.Office spaceAs with any merger, speculation is rife.
The expectation among studio executives we speak to in Europe is that there will be streamlining in local international offices.
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