That's all, folks—Skydance immediately hints at massive layoffs

Looking out over his newly conquered domain on Tuesday, David Ellison issued a statement reading, “Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry. From the start, our ambition was to bring these two storied studios together and create a stronger competitor, with the talent, resources, and reach to tell great stories in every genre, on every platform, for audiences everywhere. Now that ambition is a reality.”

As to that reality, Ellison and newly appointed co-CEO Ynon Kreiz issued a joint (and extensive) memo to all employees of the newly conjoined companies admitting that, yeah, massive layoffs are coming. “Integrating two companies will bring change, including difficult decisions that affect our workforce,” Ellison and Kreiz wrote, in a memo obtained by Variety. But have no fear, hard-working industry professionals now worried about their futures, the duo goes on to promise, “We are committed to handling this process thoughtfully and respectfully.”

Wall Street has greeted the expected rubber stamping of the merger with more than a little skepticism, as Skydance goes into its new, expansive mission carrying an enormous $80 billion in debt. It’s a figure all but engineered to cause massive cuts and layoffs, although the settlement which saw 12 states’ attorneys general withdraw their lawsuit challenging the takeover did secure a few limited concessions, including a five-year pause in layoffs at CBS, contributions to employee health funds, and the guarantee that Skydance will release at least 30 films theatrically each year and invest $1.5 billion in domestic film and TV production over the next five years.  

Still, it’s unsurprising that those decrying another enormous act of media consolidation in the hands of fewer and fewer billionaires have been immediately proven so right.