Crippling impact of Paramount-Warner deal on Los Angeles workforce revealed

Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery could lead to devastating bloodshed for Hollywood’s economy, according to a new report from Los Angeles County.

The merger between the two legacy studios puts about 2,500 jobs in the county and 6,000 globally at potential risk, the County Department of Economic Opportunity calculated.

Corporate, tech and real estate jobs are potentially in jeopardy given duplicative roles across the two companies. The combined studios are under pressure to deal with an “unusually high” $82 billion debt burden, and $6 billion in savings are eyed by consolidating roles and functions.

Much of that will heavily impact Los Angeles County, the report said.

“The findings reinforce what workers, employers, and small businesses have been telling us for years: our entertainment economy remains in a fragile recovery period,” said department director Kelly LoBianco.

To make things worse, the new company may not shoot many films in the area, which would provide some economic boost. Of the 19 films that were scheduled to release last year from the two studios, only one was primarily based in California.

“For the regional economy, one can take seriously the optimistic case that the combined company could substantially increase its theatrical and television output,” said Adam Fowler, an economist at CVL Economics.

“Given the trajectory of local production in recent years, Los Angeles is not well positioned today to capture much of that hypothetical increase.”

The report recommended the county reach out to the new company for commitments to local job growth and support and incentivize more local Hollywood production through tax credits or easier permitting.

The numbers come as California’s iconic film industry has already been battered over the past six years by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hollywood labor strikes, and the January 2025 wildfires.

Federal antitrust regulators this month cleared the blockbuster media merger without demanding a single concession, despite some controversy surrounding the deal. But a group of states, including California and New York, are preparing a lawsuit to potentially block it.

Meanwhile, the Golden State has been trying to make moves to lure Hollywood back to its former glory. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill last year doubling California’s film and TV tax credit program, and in Los Angeles, the struggling entertainment industry has been a hot topic in the mayoral race.

The Post reached out to Paramount for comment.

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