Following reports that Warner Bros. Discovery will announce a big reorganization for HBO Max, the firm has apparently cut some workers — albeit not nearly as many as had been anticipated. According to Variety, Warner Bros. Discovery is laying off 14 percent of its employees, or roughly 70 people, who formerly worked for HBO and HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys.
HBO Max subscribers have cause to be concerned about more cuts: Warner Bros. Discovery canceled Batgirl earlier this month (reportedly for a tax write-off) and has secretly removed many HBO Max-exclusive titles from the service. However, in preparation for Warner Bros. Discovery’s replacement of HBO Max and Discovery Plus with a single merged service next summer, the business is making certain modifications.
Warner Bros. Discovery will be competing in a congested streaming market. Paramount Plus just announced a partnership with Walmart in which the Paramount Plus Essential tier would be combined with Walmart Plus memberships. Disney revealed last week that it would launch an ad-supported version of Disney Plus, as well as substantial pricing increases for Disney Plus and Hulu in December. And Netflix is developing its own ad-supported tier, albeit it will not have everything at the start.
