Warner Bros. Co-President of Worldwide Marketing JP Richards is exiting after six years at the studio, one of the casualties in the latest restructuring that is expected to lead to thousands of layoffs in coming days.
An individual with knowledge of the situation said the executive had not been fired but was leaving the post as a result of the restructuring.
As much as 5-7% of the WarnerMedia workforce could be affected by the reorganization, the studio confirmed Wednesday.
The announcement of Richards’ departure comes as no surprise after WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar revealed Tuesday in an email that massive layoffs were underway. The job eliminations are expected to be in the thousands.
In a memo obtained by the TheWrap, the AT&T entertainment company’s chief executive said that he would be holding a town hall meeting on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing reorg with staff.
“Today, we have arrived at a number of difficult decisions that are resulting in a smaller WarnerMedia team,” he wrote on Tuesday. “This is a function of removing layers and the impact of consolidating previously separate organizations.”
Last month, the Wall Street Journal first reported that WarnerMedia, which like many large media organizations has been hammered by the coronavirus, is looking to cut costs by as much as 20%. WarnerMedia is the home to HBO, CNN and studio Warner Bros.
Richards was appointed to the position in 2019 after joining the company in 2015. He was later promoted to executive vice president of worldwide marketing and chief data strategist. During his time at Warner Bros., he worked on campaigns for films like “A Star Is Born,” “Aquaman,” “Joker,” “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Wonder Woman” and “Fantastic Beasts,” among others.
Prior to Warner Bros., Richards worked at Universal Pictures for over a decade, where he served as senior vice president of digital marketing.
Variety first reported the news.