| Show I n Warner Bros to cut jobs Claudia Eller Ellert t Los Angeles Times I a Warner Bros eliminating jobs or about 10 percent of its global workforce becoming the latest media company to take drastic cutting cost-cutting measures amid a deepening recession The move is expected to save the movie and television studio more than 50 million annually in costs Walt Disney Co is also shortly expected to tomake tomake tomake i make substantial cutsin cuts cutsin i in its ABC BC television n i division On Tuesday radio i broadcaster Clear Channel Communications slashed 1 1850 jobs or 9 percent o oits of f f its employees In months Viacom i Inc Universal NBC video video- game giant Electronic Arts and Hollywoods Hollywood's largest independent studio have downsized downsize d I their ranks as they struggle with the global economic crisis and market downturns of DVD revenue an and d I advertising sales Of the positions being eliminated by Time Warner Warner Bros about people will bel be l laid id off across all divisions of the studios studio's operations Another open positions will not be filled About positions in management information systems finance and accounting willbe willbe will willbe be to India and Poland In hi addition about people who work in back office positions will be offered jobs with a third- third party outsourcing company on the Burbank lot according ng to one source The layoffs and outsourcing of jobs reportedly will begin immediately and continue over a period of time In a memo to employees Warner Bros Chairman Barry Meyer and President Alan Horn said the cost- cost saving measures were prompted by the recession and the current business outlook The changing entertainment landscape shifting consumer demand and the overall state of the economy have affected companies around the world and Warner Bros is not immune to these factors according to the memo I The job cuts are occurring even though Warner Bros ranked first in domestic box j j office market share in 2008 J Jas as the result of such hits as The Dark ark Knight and continues to be one of the stronger performing units of parent company Time a Warner Inc However the studio is under ongoing pressure to wring out more costs from its operations This is not the first time Warner Bros h has s been forced to cut overhead In 2005 the studio laid 1 off about employees r rat J at its Burbank studio and t t. t more than others in its I it r international operations operations' The studio employs about worldwide J There have already been deep cuts at Time Warners Warner's corporate headquarters aswell as aswell u well as its AOL and Time J f 1 Inc operations Recently y J Time Warner took a 25 billion write-down write as a II result of de declining ining values in its AOL cable and J I publishing assets |
