Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. Entertainment movie studio said Tuesday it is eliminating nearly 800 jobs, or 10 percent of its global work force, and is examining further cost reductions.
The cuts come after the studio posted a 9 percent drop in third-quarter revenue to $2.88 billion, despite the success of the summer blockbuster, “The Dark Knight.” Earlier this month, parent Time Warner said it will post a loss for the full year due to a $25 billion write-down of its assets in cable, magazines and Internet, caused in part by the advertising slowdown.
“Despite the fact that the company performed solidly in 2008, this decision reflects changes necessary for stability and growth going forward,” the studio’s top executives, Chief Executive Barry Meyer and President Alan Horn, told employees in an e-mail Tuesday morning.
“Shifting consumer demand and the overall state of the economy have affected companies around the world, and Warner Bros. is not immune,” they said.
Most of the jobs will come out of the studio’s headquarters in Burbank, Calif., through a mix of layoffs, the elimination of open positions and outsourcing, said spokesman Scott Rowe.
About 300 jobs in information technology and accounting are being outsourced through French company Capgemini and some of the jobs will move to India and Poland. About 100 of those back office positions will be offered to current employees who will continue to be based in Burbank.
Some 300 other people will be laid off and 200 open positions will not be filled.
Warner Bros. said the subsequent cost savings will be substantial but didn’t elaborate. But executives suggested further cuts might be in the offing, noting “We will also continue to review our global operations to make sure we’re operating as efficiently and effectively as possible.”
No decision has been made about the studio’s international operations.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More