According to reports from Variety and Deadline, Warner Bros. Television is laying off 22 employees, making up 19 percent of its workforce. 125 of the studio's jobs will not be filled, with those in scripted and animation most affected.
Following its megamerger with Discovery, Warner Bros. is looking to cut costs. In August, Warner Bros. Discovery eliminated about 70 positions at HBO Max as part of a massive restructuring that also killed the nearly completed Batgirl film. In the summer of 2023, the two networks will be merged into one app.
The writers and directors workshops at Warner Bros. are being discontinued.
Warner Bros. Discovery is shutting down its television workshops after 40 years. The workshops gave emerging writers and directors the chance to break into the industry with alumni including Akela Cooper and Jude Weng. Stage 13, Warner Bros. Discovery's short-form digital content studio, has produced shows like Special, a series about a gay man living with cerebral palsy.
These are challenging times in the world and in our industry. The Warner Bros. Television CEO wrote in an internal memo that it was difficult to change so close to home. My hope is that these changes, made with an eye to a more focused business strategy, will strengthen and stabilizing our company, maintain our great creative output, and position us for continued future success.
Due to the studio's layoffs, diversity at Warner Bros. Discovery has already taken a hit, and the elimination of its workshops and Stage 13 only adds to that. Batgirl, a film led by a woman of color, as well as Summer Camp Island, a series that has a number of characters of color, were cut by Warner Bros. Discovery.
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