Skydance offers voluntary buyouts as it targets more than US$6 billion in savings
The entertainment group will also phase in a five-day office attendance requirement, with employees receiving advance notice.
Some Skydance employees will be offered buyouts under a cost-reduction program targeting savings above US$6 billion. The Hollywood Reporter reported that David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, the company’s co-chief executives, informed staff through a memo.
The company has not disclosed how many workers qualify or the amounts available. The memo left eligible positions unspecified, saying qualifying employees would get personalized terms and a deadline for accepting. It presented the buyouts as a single opportunity.
Skydance also plans to make office attendance mandatory for five days each week throughout the business. According to the memo, the policy will take effect separately at each location, after staff have been notified.
Job cuts will contribute to the savings target, but Skydance expects other measures to account for most of the reductions. Those include consolidating offices and combining streaming technology.
The business took the Skydance name after Paramount completed its US$110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery. Named for Ellison’s production company, the combined group includes CBS, HBO, CNN, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros.
Variety previously reported that Ellison told shareholders about 600 Paramount employees chose severance when that company introduced a five-day office policy.
