UPDATE 5: Kreiz is running the integration, and Ellison told employees at Skydance’s first town hall the tough decisions will come “as quickly and thoughtfully as we can.”
UPDATE 4: Kreiz’s first act as Co-CEO: co-signing the Day One memo to employees, which warns of “difficult decisions that affect our workforce.”
UPDATE 3: The merger is complete, and Skydance put the insider’s number in writing: at least $6 billion in savings over three years, coming from technology, marketing, and real estate.
UPDATE 2: The “cut cut cut” era has its first scoreboard: Ellison’s Skydance is off to an alarming start, sacrificing creatives for cost.
UPDATE: Per THR, De Luca and Abdy “met with David months ago and felt secure.” Our insiders already explained why that meant nothing.
Ynon Kreiz starts as Paramount’s Co-CEO on October 5, one day before the Warner Bros. merger closes. New insider info spells out what he was hired to do.
“Kreiz is not afraid to be the bad guy,” a Paramount insider tells us. “His job is to save 6-7 BILLIONS in the next few months. Thousands of layoffs are coming, possibly in waves. And a lot of ‘contract expired’ situations.”
Kreiz is the former Mattel boss who turned Barbie into a billion-dollar movie.
He was named Co-CEO alongside David Ellison, a move rumored before it happened.
‘A Lot Of Contract Expired Situations’
“Contract expired” is the exact phrase our insiders told us to watch.
It’s how Sam Register went out at WB Animation after 18 years. And it’s the clock on James Gunn, whose deal expires in 2027.
Layoffs in waves also matches our info that the purge is “a gradual process, not a week or a few months.”
The insider laid out where Kreiz cuts:
“He’s gonna consolidate marketing, production, facilities, real estate, post production, technology, ancillary channels, etc. Lot of fat and duplication will be cut.”
Two companies means two of everything. Soon there will be one of everything.
And the “explain yourself” meetings to justify every dollar budgeted through next June are already on the calendar.
Ellison Gets The Vision, Kreiz Gets The Day-To-Day
The official version says the same thing politely.
Per Paramount’s press release, Ellison will focus on the company’s “long-term strategy, creative vision and direction,” while Kreiz handles “day-to-day management and integration of the combined businesses.”
Page Six reads that as Kreiz playing “hatchet man” for the thousands of layoffs many predict once the merger is complete.
‘LARRY Brought Him In, Not David’
So who hired the bad guy? Per the insider, the father, not the son.
“LARRY brought him in, not David. There’s a lot of billions riding on this deal. David is a good executive but the first year requires a ruthless shark that will cut cut cut to the bone. Kreiz’s whole career is ‘finding efficiencies’ and ‘operational opportunities.'”
Larry Ellison has personally guaranteed over $40 billion of the Warner Bros. financing.
And per the insider, Larry and Kreiz made the call that shook both studios this week:
“LARRY Ellison and Kreiz chose these two (Goldberg and Greenstein) over De Luca and Abdy. Cut cut cut.”
That’s Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, elevated over both studios as Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy exit.
“You either make them money or you’re gone,” the insider said.
That bar extends to Superman himself.
‘He’s Just The Figurehead’
The insider says the mood inside is chaos.
“The debt is huge and interest rates are killing them. Many many will be let go, deals will be rewritten, plans redrawn. It’s a mess right now. WB is getting dismantled.”
“Nobody knows what’s gonna happen. Promises that were made are ignored. People thought they were gonna deal with David Ellison.”
The insider continued:
“Reality is he’s just the figurehead. Daddy is pretty much in charge. Kreiz is his proxy.”
Insiders told us in September the cuts come after the merger and that the combined company would look completely different by summer 2027. Now we know who swings the ax.
Kreiz starts October 5. The merger closes October 6.
