Skydance is offering eligible employees a voluntary buyout package worth two weeks of severance pay for every year they worked at Paramount or Warner Bros. Discovery, giving staff an option to leave rather than comply with the company’s new five-day-a-week office requirement.
The offer was detailed in an October 26 report by Business Insider, which reviewed an internal human resources email and spoke with people familiar with the package. Eligible employees must decide by November 8 whether to accept the one-time offer. The company said it does not plan to provide additional buyout programs.
The initiative comes less than a month after Skydance completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6, combining major film studios, television networks and streaming services under one corporate structure. The integration brings together employees who previously worked under different office policies.
Paramount employees assigned to offices had already been required to work in person five days a week earlier this year, while Warner Bros. Discovery staff generally worked from the office at least three days weekly. Skydance is now extending the stricter arrangement across the combined business, with implementation phased by location.
Skydance Buyout Package Gives Employees a Deadline to Decide
Under the standard offer, eligible employees can receive two weeks of severance for each year of service at Paramount or Warner Bros. Discovery. The package is voluntary, and employees who do not respond by the deadline will be treated as having declined it.
The deadline in the HR email is 8 p.m. Pacific time on November 8, equivalent to 11 p.m. Eastern time. Employees were told to review their individual offer details, including estimated severance and benefits, before making a decision. Exceptions to the standard package may apply to the timing or amount paid.
The company has not disclosed how many workers qualify for the program or how many departures it expects. Skydance’s internal communication says the offer is intended to give eligible employees a choice as the organizations are brought together, acknowledging that the new office policy or the pace of change may not suit everyone.
The buyout also comes as Skydance pursues significant cost savings after its roughly $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The deal left the combined company with substantial debt and a need to improve cash generation while integrating its businesses. Wealthier Today previously reported on the debt financing behind the Warner Bros. acquisition, which included a large package of secured borrowing.
Five-Day Office Mandate Adds Pressure During Merger Integration
Skydance co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz said in their employee memo that in-person collaboration is important to the company’s culture and creative work. Management plans to introduce the policy in phases depending on location, with employees receiving advance notice of when the change applies.
The policy marks a shift for former Warner Bros. Discovery employees who had generally been expected to work in person three days per week. The stricter requirement may prompt some workers to reconsider their positions, particularly those who have built routines around hybrid work or live farther from company offices.
The buyout offer gives those employees a financial option to leave, but accepting it could have implications for income, benefits and future employment. Skydance has encouraged workers to review the terms carefully and consider consulting financial, tax or legal advisers before deciding.
The workforce changes are unfolding alongside a broader integration effort. The combined company is expected to seek billions of dollars in cost savings while bringing together entertainment brands including Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., CBS, HBO and streaming services such as Paramount+ and HBO Max. The company’s ability to realize those savings without weakening production and distribution operations will be closely watched by investors.
Skydance has not announced a target number of departures under the buyout program. The final workforce impact will depend on how many eligible employees accept the offer before the November 8 deadline and how the company proceeds with the integration afterward.