Warner Bros. Discovery on Thursday eliminated 29 positions in Europe, including top executives responsible for original programming, according to media reports.
Jonathan Young, VP of original programming and production at HBO Max for Europe, Middle East and Africa; Christian Wikander, VP of original programming for the Nordic region; and Annelies Sitvast, who oversees unscripted original programming were all let go as part of the conglomerate’s latest consolidation move. (Mia Edde, who headed up content acquisitions in Turkey, had already left the company.)
A rep for Warner Bros. Discovery did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The layoffs are the latest in Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s dual moves to reduce costs by up to $3 billion as well as to shift the strategy for the company’s streaming services, HBO Max and Discovery+. The company plans to merge the two platforms, with plans to introduced the merged service in most European markets by early 2024.
WBD is expected to continue to invest in local European content through its local linear and streaming teams — but there are no plans to produce streaming-only content.
Last week, the company laid off 70 HBO Max employees in the U.S., eliminating four whole departments and their top executives: HBO Max Originals Nonfiction and Live Action, International Originals, Casting and Content Acquisitions.
The cuts amounted to roughly 14% of staff under head content officer Casey Bloys being let go prior to HBO Max and Discovery+ being combined into a single service set to launch in the United States next summer.