Netflix tells staff Warner Bros deal will not mean layoffs

Amid mounting uncertainty around Netflix’s high-stakes deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix co-chief executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters have sought to reassure employees that the proposed transaction will not result in job losses or studio shutdowns.

In a letter to staff, the executives attempted to allay fears that the deal could unravel after Paramount–Skydance mounted a hostile rival bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. According to multiple media reports, Sarandos and Peters said there would be no “overlapping or shutting” of studios under Netflix’s proposal.

“This deal is about growth,” the letter said. “We’re strengthening one of Hollywood’s most iconic studios, supporting jobs, and ensuring a healthy future for film and television production.”

Netflix is seeking to finalise a $72 billion deal that would put Warner Bros. Discovery’s most prized assets—HBO, HBO Max and Warner Bros. Studios—under its control. The proposed takeover has been thrown into sharper focus after Paramount–Skydance made a rival all-cash offer on December 8, valuing Warner Bros. Discovery at $78 billion, or $30 a share.

Even so, Netflix has said it remains confident in its bid, which values the streaming and studio businesses at $27.75 per share.

If completed, the transaction would rank among the largest media mergers on record, giving the world’s biggest streaming service ownership of one of Hollywood’s most storied studios. The acquisition would bring under Netflix’s roof a library spanning classics like Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz to blockbuster franchises such as Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, as well as HBO, long regarded as television’s creative benchmark, behind series including Game of Thrones.