Oct 26 (Reuters) – Skydance is offering some employees a one-time voluntary buyout, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Monday, as the media company looks to cut costs after scooping up bigger rival Warner Bros Discovery and assuming its massive debt.
The company, whose shares have fallen by about a third this year, is also moving to a five-day-a-week in-office policy, the memo showed.
• “As we bring our teams together, we recognize that not everyone will see their future here, and we respect that,” Skydance CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz said in the memo
• The communication also said employees who qualify for the buyout program would be notified of the terms and given a window to decide whether to accept the one-time offer
• Earlier this month, Paramount Skydance completed its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, with the combined entity renamed Skydance
• Skydance is expected to have about 53,000 employees, according to the companies’ respective annual filings as of the end of last year
• The company is expected to shoulder about $80 billion in debt, putting pressure on management to expand streaming, preserve cash flow from cable networks and improve theatrical film performance
• The company is set to report third quarter results on November 9, where investors will be focused on its new strategy
• Semafor and CNBC reported last week that Elon Musk has invested roughly $1 billion in Skydance
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara)
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