The Paramount Skydance pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery puts about 2,500 jobs in Los Angeles County and 6,000 globally at potential risk due to consolidation, according to a new county Department of Economic Opportunity report.
Hollywood jobs that could be leaving the greater Los Angeles County region are mainly in corporate, tech and real estate due to the duplicative roles and shared functions across the two companies. These jobs are “most immediately exposed to consolidation” said the DEO interim report released late Thursday, June 18.
Initiated by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors on March 17 to look into potential effects of a merger of two giant entertainment companies operating in the region was led by Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath. It was produced by CVL Economics, a Los Angeles-based economic consulting firm specializing in the media and entertainment industry.
The report stated the estimate of potential job losses “should not be read as a layoff forecast; it only defines the scale of possible employment impacts that may be subject to consolidation.”
The new combined company would begin by carrying about $82 billion in gross debt, which is about seven times their current annual profits, raising concerns whether this debt could be sustained, the CVL report found. Paramount Skydance projects about $6 billion in savings by cutting duplicate functions, streamlining technology and cloud systems and consolidating real estate and procurement, the report stated.
“Many of these areas are heavily based in Los Angeles County, meaning the county is particularly exposed to corporate consolidation,” the report concluded.
One glass-half-full outcome could see the combined company substantially increasing theatrical and television output. Also, the report wonders where principal photography and post-production work will take place. “Given the trajectory of local production in recent years, Los Angeles is not well positioned today to capture much of that hypothetical increase,” said Adam Fowler, CVL Economics co-founder in a prepared statement.
Television shows bring the most revenue for both companies, but the viewership continues to shrink, adding to a wider gap between earnings and debt, the CVL report said.
The new combined company has said it would release 30 theatrical films a year. But will production be in Los Angeles County? The past numbers don’t back up a surge toward more local production.
Of 19 Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery films scheduled for 2025, only one was primarily shot in California, while most production occurred out of state or overseas, the report stated.
In L.A. County, there are about 325,000 workers directly or indirectly employed by the entertainment industry each year, the DEO reported. The county estimated an industry economic impact of $117.2 billion.
The proposed $111 billion Paramount Skydance merger with Warner Bros. Discovery and how it may impact jobs and the economy in Burbank, Glendale, Universal City, San Fernando Valley, and throughout Southern California has become a more urgent concern of the Board of Supervisors in the last week.
On June 12, the Trump U.S. Department of Justice approved the merger, ahead of the September 2026 deadline. The DOJ concluded the merger would help workers by strengthening competition and not reduce job opportunities.
The decision has increased the discourse in the industry and in political circles on negative effects, such as layoffs and decreased production in L.A. County and California. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has stated his office will look into antitrust law and is coordinating with other states in deciding whether or not to file a lawsuit to stop the acquisition, according to the DEO.
Horvath said the board is directing county departments to protect jobs in the entertainment industry, which is both an economic and cultural engine in L.A. County.
“This deal increases the threat to jobs, workers, and communities that are already under attack,” Horvath said in a statement. “Nothing is off the table when it comes to protecting our workforce, our economy, and the future of the entertainment capital of the world. We’ve already seen this movie and know what happens when corporate consolidation puts billionaires’ interests ahead of working people — no need for a sequel.”
The entertainment industry is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 Hollywood labor strikes and the January 2025 wildfires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. FilmLA data shows production activity in L.A. County declined 16% in 2025 over 2024.
The final DEO report, due in August, will outline actions to be taken by the DEO, including a workforce action plan with job training, streamlined unemployment benefits as well as job fairs supporting the rehiring of laid off workers into related sectors, such as digital media, gaming, technology and live events.
Also, the supervisors have directed the County Counsel Office to “submit formal comments to the U.S. Department of Justice regarding antitrust concerns,” according to the report.
“Under the leadership of the Board of Supervisors, the DEO and the LA County Film Office are taking a proactive approach to understanding potential risks and preparing solutions that protect workers, businesses, and the long-term competitiveness of our creative economy,” said Kelly LoBianco, DEO director in a prepared statement.