CNN staff are reportedly bracing for significant job cuts after Paramount Skydance cleared a major regulatory hurdle to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.

The US$111 billion merger is expected to close within weeks after Paramount reached a settlement with a coalition of 12 US state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America. 

The takeover will bring CNN under the same ownership as CBS News, alongside a collection of entertainment and streaming assets including HBO, Paramount+, HBO Max, Discovery+ and Pluto TV.

For CNN employees, the prospect of a new corporate structure has raised concerns about redundancies and management changes.

Reports from US media outlets indicate staff are particularly concerned about overlapping positions across the two companies, with cuts expected across areas including technology, streaming, marketing, advertising and corporate operations. Paramount CEO David Ellison has told employees that the companies are still working through the details of the integration. 

Paramount has promised investors US$6 billion in cost savings from the Warner Bros. Discovery transaction, which only further increases the pressure to eliminate duplicated operations.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s board has previously warned that job cuts are expected because of the overlap between the two companies’ businesses. Paramount, however, has said layoffs will not account for the majority of its planned savings. 

Variety reports that employees at both companies are now preparing for multiple rounds of layoffs in the months ahead. One executive told the publication that there would be a rush to complete the first round of cuts during the fourth quarter, while others expect reductions after the initial restructuring. 

There is additional uncertainty around CNN’s leadership and it is unclear whether current CNN chief executive Mark Thompson will continue in the role after the merger. Paramount has installed Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News.

The settlement also establishes an editorial independence board that covers CNN and CBS News. The five-member board will be made up of veteran journalists and is intended to oversee editorial and journalism principles at the combined news operations. 

The Writers Guild settlement separately includes a five-year moratorium on layoffs at CBS News, while Paramount has committed US$47.5 million over five years to a workforce fund supporting training and career development for employees affected by job losses. 

Combining Paramount+ with Warner’s HBO Max and other digital platforms will create significant overlap in streaming technology, engineering, advertising and customer operations.

While the potential layoffs are unlikely to affect Australians, the scale of the merger means decisions made in the US could ultimately affect which streaming services, programmes and platforms customers have access to.