LOS ANGELES: 1000’s of Hollywood staff rallied in opposition to Paramount Skydance Company’s $110 billion proposed acquisition of Warner Bros.
Discovery, warning that the deal would set off huge layoffs and additional consolidate an trade nonetheless reeling from pandemic period disruptions and labor strikes. The formal “Block the Merger” occasion in Los Angeles, organized by the American Financial Liberties Venture, drew writers, actors, crew members and small enterprise house owners. Comparable rallies happened in New York and Atlanta.
The opposition follows the Feb. 27 announcement that Paramount would purchase Warner Bros. Discovery in an $81 billion fairness deal, with an enterprise worth of $110 billion.
Paramount can pay $31 per share in money for all excellent Warner shares. The boards of each firms have authorised the transaction, which is anticipated to shut by the third quarter of 2026, pending regulatory clearance and Warner shareholder approval.
Employees concern the deal will value 1000’s of jobs. Paramount has confirmed plans to chop $6 billion in prices, describing the reductions as “synergies”, trade terminology for eliminating overlapping roles.
“We really feel assured in our $6-billion quantity after doing due diligence extensively with Warner Bros.,” Paramount Chief Working and Chief Technique Officer Andy Gordon informed Wall Road analysts.
Warner Bros. Discovery employs roughly 35,000 individuals, together with about 7,500 in manufacturing roles. Paramount employed practically 20,000 staff in August 2025 earlier than shedding roughly 1,000 and asserting plans to chop 1,000 extra.
Workers at each firms have described the anticipated layoffs as a “massacre,” in response to commerce publications. A Paramount worker informed the media there have been “wordless screams” on the firm’s Los Angeles workplace when the information broke.
“Take into consideration the bloodletting of 1000’s of staff at CBS and Paramount, and now will probably be extra. Simply terrible,” an trade insider informed Selection.
The Worldwide Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing 1.3 million members nationwide, has submitted a proper report back to the Justice Division’s Antitrust Division opposing the merger. The union mentioned the deal threatens practically 15,000 Movement Image Teamsters.
“This merger threatens the livelihoods of the very staff who constructed these studios into trade giants,” Teamsters Common President Sean M. O’Brien mentioned. “We have seen what occurs when companies consolidate energy: jobs disappear, manufacturing leaves American communities, and staff pay the value.”
The Teamsters mentioned they might assist the deal provided that Paramount agrees to enforceable commitments on home manufacturing ranges, labor requirements and ensures in opposition to layoffs. The Writers Guild of America additionally opposes the deal, noting that the merged firm would turn into the biggest employer of its members.
Greater than 4,000 performers signed an open letter in opposition to the merger, led by actress and political activist Jane Fonda, who warned the deal would shrink competitors “at a second when our industries and the audiences we serve can at the least afford it.”
Sen. Cory Booker, DN.J., delivered a 13-minute video critique titled “Warner Bros.-Paramount Merger, the Company Propaganda Monopoly: Ellison Media Cartel.”
The merger would place CNN and CBS Information underneath the management of the Ellison household, which maintains shut ties with President Donald Trump. David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, controls the corporate alongside together with his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison.
The Justice Division has subpoenaed paperwork from each firms as a part of an antitrust evaluate. Though the necessary ready interval underneath the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Enhancements Act expired Feb. 19, the DOJ retains the facility to problem the merger. Analysts say the evaluate may delay completion by as much as a yr.
If the deal closes, the US leisure trade can be dominated by a “Massive 4” of conglomerates. Paramount’s authorized workforce argues the deal is pro-consumer and strengthens Hollywood’s position in opposition to tech and streaming giants.
A regulatory termination payment of $7 billion can be paid by Paramount if the deal collapses resulting from a failure to acquire regulatory approval.
