‘Paranoia’ Felt by WarnerMedia Staff Amid Looming Layoffs in Discovery Merger: ‘It’s Bad, It’s Crazy’

She added that pandemic isolation has only made things worse: “These people have been working at home for two years. They can’t even talk to each other [in person].”

On Tuesday, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar announced that he would be leaving the post once the merger with Discovery closes, which an insider told is expected to occur as early as Friday.

Kilar’s departure had been expected since the merger was announced last May, and was followed Tuesday and Wednesday by a small avalanche of departures from his team, including networks group CEO and chair Ann Sarnoff and HBO Max head Andy Forssell. Those departures — which an individual with knowledge of the situation described to as a mix of voluntary and involuntary exits — also came as no surprise as there was expected fallout from the merger.

However, inside sources confirm that many outside of Kilar’s former leadership team remain panicked that they may be next on the list. The level of fear is exacerbated by reports by Insider and other sources that the merger of AT&T’s WarnerMedia with Discovery includes at least $3 billion of annual “cost synergies,” a term which Insider points out is often synonymous with layoffs.

One employee who works on legal and compliance issues said Tuesday his specific department hasn’t been briefed that any layoffs are imminent. He told , “Of course it’s in the back of my mind, but there’s not a panic.”

However, others are not so sanguine. “We don’t know anything. They are keeping us in the dark. Everybody has merger fatigue and it hasn’t even happened yet,” said one current employee.

The individual also said that Discovery’s reputation for being “cheap” is fanning the flames of worry about overly aggressive cuts.

Another employee told , “If you are in ‘Harry Potter’ or games [development departments], I would imagine you are fine, but everyone else is worried.”

A representative for Discovery didn’t immediately respond to ’s request for comment. A WarnerMedia rep declined to comment for this article.

In the social media sphere, outsiders are expressing sympathy and empathy for WarnerMedia employees. Wrote Brandon Katz, entertainment host and creator of the Morning Brew, on Twitter: “The bloodbath continues. The WarnerMedia exodus is going to be brutal as Discovery takes over. I feel for the many layoffs at the non-executive level that are coming.”

A responder to Katz’ post agreed that Discovery is likely to cut a little too deep: “Another bad decision. How do you get rid of the people who built the streamer with the most momentum? There will be lots of pressure on the cheap cable guys to do better. My guess is they won’t and they will be replaced themselves.”

Joe Bel Bruno contributed to this report.