Warner Bros. Discovery insiders are nervously bracing for the latest in a series of rolling layoffs — with the next round expected to hit ad sales staffers starting as early as next week. The cuts come as part of a broader, ongoing restructuring at WBD, which is under pressure to achieve the $3 billion in cost savings promised from Discovery's April acquisition of WarnerMedia.
Four people told Insider they are expecting news of more extensive layoffs as Warner Bros. Discovery looks to configure multiple business units, including Warner Bros. Entertainment, HBO and HBO Max, Turner, CNN, and Discovery, under a single sales structure.
There are also some questions over how the company's new approach to selling advertising will land. Deals that previously were sold by content vertical are instead going to be sold across the company's vast content portfolio, which spans lifestyle, news, and sports.
The former Turner ad sales unit, now under chief WBD ad sales chief Jon Steinlauf, has already shed a host of top executives after the company began offering buyouts to the global ad sales force of about 3,000, with a goal of cutting 30% from those teams, The Information reported earlier.
One source told Insider that many former WarnerMedia sales executives were earning much more than their Discovery counterparts and therefore opted for big buyouts that were hard to refuse. During its first quarterly earnings report as a new company, WBD said that restructuring costs totaled almost $1 billion.
Meanwhile, leadership has been scrambling to find roles for people they want to keep, one insider said.
Among the big names that have already left include: Katrina Cukaj, who led the company's prior upfront presentations as WarnerMedia's Lead, Ad Sales and Client Partnerships. Karen Grinthal, EVP national ad sales, is retiring, according to a Variety report this week.
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