The Warner Bros. Discovery merger with Paramount has left many in its wake. A contractor is drawing attention to workers who lose their jobs without appearing in a company's announced layoff totals.
Highlighting the human cost of corporate cuts as executives get hundreds of millions in payouts.
Here's what to know
In a TikTok video shared by More Perfect Union, a content creator and former Warner Bros. contractor described losing an expected opportunity to move from full-time IT contract work to a staff position.
Merger-related cuts involving Paramount and Warner Bros. have ended his expected path to a staff job with benefits, he said. He understood he would make that move after his contract ended in 2027.
Announced layoff figures can exclude contractors, as companies are not required to report them on public directories, even though those workers also lose their livelihoods.
The worker put the number of jobs at risk at a minimum of 10,000, with 4,500 in Los Angeles.
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A statement from the new executives, included in the video, sets a goal of more than $6 billion in synergies over three years through savings on technology, combined marketing operations, and labor.
More background
The contractor said he had gone nearly two years without seeing his family. Paid vacation and health insurance would have come with the anticipated staff role, allowing him to make that visit and see a doctor.
Executive compensation cited in the video includes an estimated $800 million exit payout for outgoing Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and pay in the tens of millions for executive David Ellison and his executive circle.
The contractor said studios can end working relationships without severance and save on benefits by using contract labor.
One commenter described a similar experience.
"As a contractor, I wasn't paid holidays or sick days. When I lost my contract, I got zero days of severance and because I was an independent worker, not eligible for unemployment," they wrote.
What can be done?
The worker called on Ellison to acknowledge the consequences of the cuts.
"Stop insulting our intelligence by calling this a streamlining or a thoughtful transition," he said, challenging the language used to describe the restructuring.
Commenters echoed his concerns about how companies describe workforce reductions.
"'Synergies' = new corporate word for 'layoffs,'" one wrote.
Another commenter called for a policy response: "Pass new monopoly laws."
One viewer questioned whether workers were being properly classified as contractors.
"I worked as a 'contractor' in the ranch industry for years. I was a normal employee but it effectively cut my pay." another commenter wrote.
Where can I learn more?
Job cuts and questions about workers' employment status aren't limited to Warner Bros. These stories cover media layoffs, voluntary exits, rehiring after AI cuts, and gig workers' employee status.
• Washington journalists warn McClatchy's 90 layoffs will leave gaping holes in local news.
• Comcast says AI cut service contact rates by 20% as sweeping layoffs loom.
• Microsoft gave 60,000 workers until early December to decide on an exit scheduled for December 31.
• Nearly one-third of hiring managers say their companies rehired for the same jobs cut for AI.
• In California, WorkWhile must treat gig workers as employees and pay $7.2 million.
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