Warner's Home Entertainment Division Hit with Massive Lay-Off's

[Gold Ranger]

As if Warner's Home Entertainment Division wasn't already in a terrible state of affairs...

Warner Bros. is expected to begin layoffs today that will result in the elimination of about 1,000 jobs globally as part of company-wide streamlining effort.
Variety reports that the cuts, which amount to more than 10 percent of the studio’s 8,000-person workforce, are anticipated in two waves, with roughly half starting this week. The process will be completed by the end of the year.
CEO Kevin Tsujihara announced last month that the studio aims to reduce costs by $200 million annually, which will be used to fund an ambitious film and television slate that includes at least 10 DC Comics-based films, J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series, and more LEGO offerings. Film and television production divisions are expected to be spared the brunt of the cutbacks, while home entertainment, marketing, distribution, administration and “other non-production related divisions” will be among the hardest hit.

As we’ve noted before, the popular belief is that DC could be spared layoffs by simply not filling some of the positions left vacant when it completes the move from New York City to Burbank, California, in the spring.
Fellow Time Warner division Turner Broadcasting, which includes CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and TNT, will eliminate about 1,475 jobs — again, equal to about 10 percent of its workforce. It was revealed just last week that HBO will lay off about 150 people, nearly 7 percent of its workforce. Time Warner is expected to slash about 2,600 jobs in all.
The belt-tightening is part of a long-term growth strategy devised more than a year ago but apparently accelerated by Rupert Murdoch’s rejected $80 billion bid in August for Time Warner.


http://robot6.comicbookresources.com...o-begin-today/

I also feel bad about all those people losing their jobs, and right around the most depressing time of the year...

[Show spoiler]Suicides happen more during the Winter/Holidays than any other time of the year.

I hope everyone gets a severence package and is able to find work right away.

Also, if they really wanted to fix the company, pay the Higher Executives way less... but noooo....

[MifuneFan]

Hope it comes with a UV copy

[DisneyBlu]

Terrible. Especially since it's right before the holidays.

[schlock]

At least we'll get more DC superhero movies. Just total greed, that's all this is. And another huge blow to the homevideo industry. Sorry to all those employees, and it's definitley not going to be easy for most of them to find similar jobs available at other studios. So it looks like unemployment benefits for many of them during the holidays.

And I wonder what impact this will have on Warner Archives. I hope Archives survives all of this nonsense.

[rewak]

Maybe they wouldn't have to lay off staff to find money if they should stop re-releasing a big chunk of their catalog every other year with no upgrades.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by rewak

Maybe they wouldn't have to lay off staff to find money if they should stop re-releasing a big chunk of their catalog every other year with no upgrades.

This has nothing to do with that. They also likely make more money off many of those re-releases than they would a new catalog title. Goen with the Wind alone rakes in the money for them.

[rewak]

You should read some of the threads regarding their latest batch of re-releases under the Anniversary line.

[klauswhereareyou]

Putting too many eggs in one basket. If the DC movies flop, or underperform, Uncle Rupie will be waiting in the wings. Sad news for the workers being layed off though.

[Gold Ranger]

If BvS fails, then the other DC Movies are cancelled.
The Current TV Shows will be getting lay-offs as well.
The rating ANDBD/DVD sales will determine if the shows continue.

[WorkShed]

Warner doesn't seem to care much for BD, considering how they treat the format lately. I'm sure that WB would be happy to make everything stream only.

[sxerunner]

Originally Posted by WorkShed

Warner doesn't seem to care much for BD, considering how they treat the format lately. I'm sure that WB would be happy to make everything stream only.

I wouldn't say they are the worst, at least amongst the other big studios. Warner still releases some catalogue titles unlike Paramount who gave up their library to Warner entirely and Sony who has only released maybe three or so titles this year.

Yeah WB likes to re-release, but they are not alone.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Hope it comes with a UV copy

so wrong

[Mr. Cinema]

Originally Posted by WorkShed

Warner doesn't seem to care much for BD, considering how they treat the format lately. I'm sure that WB would be happy to make everything stream only.

The co-founder of BD (Sony) cares even less.

[willo007]

I hope they fired the guy who chose for Last BoyScout, BloodSport & TimeCop to be relaesed only as double features!!

[GenPion]

So Warner Bros is firing people so they can produce more movies? Don't they make enough money as it is to do that? How about using their massive profits to make more movies rather than lay off 10% of their workforce.

[Gold Ranger]

And with the Problems with the Batman '66 set... this is now starting to show!

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by GenPion

So Warner Bros is firing people so they can produce more movies? Don't they make enough money as it is to do that? How about using their massive profits to make more movies rather than lay off 10% of their workforce.

Last year Warner earned over $29 BILLION in revenues. Paid out $1.1 BILLION in dividends, and spent $3.2 BILLION on stock buybacks. Wonder what the executive compensation was?

Basically, they were full of shit in that explanation that they need the money to fund films. Especially with how bloated these studios are letting their film budgets get these days. This sounds like a case of them cutting back smaller divisions, to fund the bloated budgets of other divisions. It's probably not even that though. The reality is - they are just doing this to earn an extra .05 per share and boost their executive compensation.

Warner had previously announced a "big" 2015 for blu-ray. Hopefully this doesn't mess that up. You also have to worry about the archival department at some of these studios, and what is going to happen in the future. It would be pretty devastating to find out that another studios went all fox 1970's on us (i.e. when Fox destroyed basically all of their original technicolor films to save on storage costs).

[StingingVelvet]

The simple fact is physical media is not selling gangbusters like DVD was 10 years ago. I don't think discs are going anywhere for a long, long time but you certainly don't need the staff you had a decade ago in today's market.

It's only going to get more and more niche and focused as time goes on.

[Aclea]

Originally Posted by KaineKinetic

As if Warner's Home Entertainment Division wasn't already in a terrible state of affairs...


I also feel bad about all those people losing their jobs, and right around the most depressing time of the year...

[Show spoiler]Suicides happen more during the Winter/Holidays than any other time of the year.

I hope everyone gets a severence package and is able to find work right away.

Also, if they really wanted to fix the company, pay the Higher Executives way less... but noooo....

This is more about making the balance sheet look better for the next time Murdoch tries a takeover bid than funding movies. If Murdoch took over, there'd be around 45% initial layoffs and a scaling back of film production before a slow United Artists-style draining of power and financing as key corporate assets like superman and Batman were transferred to Fox just as James Bond, Rocky and the Pink Panther were transferred to MGM. This is basically sending a message to shareholders that the value of the stock can rise with across the board savings and are worth holding on to rather than selling for a one-off profit. And a number of highly paid execs will lose their jobs as well to show the investors they're serious while others can expect a wage freeze.

http://sfvbj.com/news/2014/sep/05/bu...m-warner-bros/

I doubt we'd be seeing cuts this deep outside home video (which would always have had more job losses, if not as many as the current axe of more than 10% of staff) if the Murdoch threat weren't hovering over the company.

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by KaineKinetic

And with the Problems with the Batman '66 set... this is now starting to show!

These sets were packaged in manufacturing plants that service multiple companies, not just Warner. The home video division is in charge of planning and marketing, not physical production.