Getty Images | Mat Hayward
AT & T’s WarnerMedia division plans to lay off hundreds of employees in the latest AT & T savings. “Warner Bros. is expected to begin laying off about 650 people on Monday, according to people familiar with the case, while HBO is seen angering between 150 and 175 employees. A WarnerMedia spokesman declined to comment, “Variety reported yesterday.
The figures quoted in Variety may be a little too high. A source with knowledge of the AT&T layoffs told Ars that the actual number is about 600 jobs across WarnerMedia, including Warner Bros., HBO, and Turner.
The dismissals come days after WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar announced a shakeup including the departure of three executives and an increased focus on AT & T’s new HBO Max streaming service. Kilar detailed the changes in an internal memo published on Friday by CNBC.
WarnerMedia revenue fell sharply
In its Q2 2020 profit report, AT&T said HBO revenue was “$ 1.6 billion, up 5.2 percent year-over-year, reflecting a decline in subscription revenue and content and other revenue.” HBO operating expenses were “$ 1.5 billion, up 32.5 percent year over year, mainly due to higher programming costs and expenses related to HBO Max.” HBO business revenue was $ 113 million, up 80.3 percent.
The turnover of Warner Bros. in Q2 was $ 3.3 billion, down 3.9 percent year-on-year, in part because of “the postponement of theatrical releases due to cinema closures,” AT&T said. Warner Bros. Business Income rose 43.9 percent to $ 633 million, however, as the unit’s operating costs decreased 11.1 percent to $ 2.6 billion “mainly due to production downtime and lower marketing costs.”
Turner’s Q2 revenue was $ 3 billion, “down 12.4 percent year over year due to a decline in advertising and subscription revenue.” Lower incomes of regional sports networks during the pandemic contributed to the decline. Turner’s operating expenses were $ 1.4 billion, down 37.2 percent year over year “mainly due to lower programming and marketing expenses associated with stopping sports.” Turner’s operating income was $ 1.6 billion, up 36.2 percent.
Comcast’s NBCUniversal division is also cutting jobs.
AT&T has cut more than 41,000 jobs since 2017
AT&T has Time Warner Inc. acquired in June 2018 following the defeat of a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice claiming that the merger would reduce competition and increase TV prices. AT&T today filed a complaint against AMC Networks, which last week told the Federal Communications Commission that AT & T’s DirecTV and U-verse TV services discriminate against AMC, while favoring AT & T’s own features such as HBO. AT&T told the Hollywood Reporter that the AMC complaint is “completely without merit” and that AT&T is handling “[s] all programmers honestly and will continue to work with AMC Networks to deliver the content at a price that is reasonable for our customers. “
At the end of 2017, Time Warner had approximately 26,000 employees, five and a half months before the acquisition by AT&T was finalized.
Business-wise, AT&T has cut more than 41,000 jobs since the end of 2017, despite lobbying for a tax cut that then-CEO Randall Stephenson claimed AT&T would use to “create 7,000 jobs from people who import glass fiber” [the] terrain. “Those 41,000 jobs do not include any contractors, which is why AT&T has also been burnt down.
In June 2020, the Union of Communications Workers of America union said AT&T cut another 3,400 unions from its wireless broadband and telephone network operations and closed 250 wireless retail stores. AT&T told Ars at the time that it would eliminate an even larger number of employees who do not pay.
AT&T had 243,350 employees as of the last revenue report. The company has been trying to reduce its debt burden since acquiring Time Warner. The company’s long-term debt was $ 303.4 billion as of June 30, 2020, down from $ 168.5 billion by mid-2018.
