Skydance is offering some employees a one-time voluntary buyout as it looks to cut costs following its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery. The entertainment giant is also asking employees to return to the office five days a week as it brings together teams from the two businesses.According to an internal memo from co-chief executives David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, eligible employees will receive details of their buyout packages and a limited window to decide whether to accept the offer, Reuters reports.
The memo does not specify how many employees qualify for the programme.“As we bring our teams together, we recognise that not everyone will see their future here, and we respect that,” Ellison and Kreiz said in the memo.Warner Bros takeover leaves Skydance with billions in debtSkydance completed its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery earlier this month and renamed the combined company Skydance. The new company is expected to have around 53,000 employees and more than $80 billion in debt.
This puts pressure on the company to cut costs, grow its streaming business and make its films more successful at the box office. The buyout programme is part of Skydance's plan to cut costs following the merger.
The company aims to save $6 billion over three years, including $2 billion in the first year. Ellison has said the savings will come mainly from areas such as technology, procurement and property, rather than employees.The programme will give eligible employees the option to leave the company in exchange for a one-time payout.
Those who qualify will receive details of their individual offers and some time to decide whether to accept them. Skydance has not disclosed how much employees will be offered or when they must make their decision.Skydance asks employees to return to office five days a week Alongside the buyouts, Skydance is introducing a five-day-a-week office policy across the company.
The changes will be rolled out in phases depending on location, with employees receiving advance notice before the new arrangements take effect.“With that in mind, we will adopt a five-day in-office policy across all of Skydance,” Ellison and Kreiz wrote. They said the company had seen the benefits of in-person working at Paramount and wanted employees across the combined business to experience the same.Paramount Skydance had already ended hybrid working, while Warner Bros Discovery employees were required to come into the office three days a week.
The new policy means those employees will have to spend more time in the office, rather than working remotely for part of the week.Ellison and Kreiz said the move would help employees communicate, collaborate and share ideas more easily as the two teams come together. “We understand this may be a significant change to the daily routines of others,” reads the memo. They added that the company would take “a phased approach by location” and give employees “ample notice before changes take effect.”Meanwhile, Elon Musk has reportedly invested around $1 billion in Skydance, according to CNBC, as the company looks to strengthen its financial position following the Warner Bros Discovery takeover.- Ends