Skydance outlined its plan to cut at least $6 billion in costs over three years following its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. The company operates an expense base of more than $50 billion across two streaming services, two studio groups, and two television portfolios.
The savings breakdown includes at least $2.2 billion from eliminating redundant back-office and corporate functions, management layers, and office space consolidation, with increased use of artificial intelligence. Skydance projects $1 billion in savings from streamlining marketing and promotional spending. Another $1.4 billion will come from unifying streaming businesses, broadcast architecture, and back-end technology. A final $1.4 billion will result from optimizing third-party spending and centralizing purchasing decisions.
The company says it is confident in these targets based on a prior cost-cutting program at Paramount that is on track to achieve over $2.7 billion in efficiencies by the end of 2026.
Cost-cutting measures have already begun. Last month, Skydance offered voluntary buyouts to employees and implemented a five-day-per-week in-office requirement. Last week, eight executives departed. The company is also moving forward with plans to bundle Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services early next year.
Co-CEO Ynon Kreiz said the combined company can make smarter choices about distributing and monetizing content as one entity. Skydance spends more than $30 billion annually on shows and films. Co-CEO David Ellison noted the company plans to use artificial intelligence to speed up production and decrease film costs.