Free Republic

A significant round of layoffs forecast last month at WarnerMedia is getting under way today. CEO Jason Kilar emailed staffers this morning, acknowledging the process is “painful” but also calling it a “critical” step in the AT&T division’s evolution. (See his full memo below.) The entertainment outfit has seen multiple staff reductions since the acquisition of Time Warner closed in 2018. Historically, its three main units — HBO, Warner Bros and Turner — operated as mostly autonomous groups. Now, synergy is the mission, with teams being blended for the first time in decades and a lot of positions eliminated in...

ESPN is cutting another 500 jobs as pressures from the Covid-19 pandemic are weighing on the sports network. Apparently, the restart of almost all major sports – albeit draped in political messaging for the last 6 months – hasn’t been enough to save the network from a fresh round of layoffs. The network is blaming the coronavirus, naturally, because it certainly can’t blame its own politicized discussions during almost every major sporting event it has broadcast over the last few months. A memo circulated on Thursday from Jimmy Pitaro, the head of ESPN, said the cuts will include 300 layoffs...