CNN employees are facing uncertainty as Paramount Skydance moves closer to completing its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company.
Paramount reached a settlement on Sept. 21 with a coalition of 12 state attorneys general that had challenged the merger in court.
The agreement, which still requires judicial approval, removes a significant legal obstacle to the transaction.
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The deal has been valued at about $110 billion in enterprise value, with the equity value reported at about $81 billion.
Under the settlement, the combined company would commit at least an additional $1.5 billion to U.S. film production over five years.
It would also establish a $47.5 million workforce fund over the same period for training and career development for employees displaced by the merger.
The agreement also includes a provision addressing CNN and CBS News, where Paramount agreed to establish a News Editorial Independence Board intended to help maintain editorial independence at the two news organizations.
Despite those provisions, the pending merger has contributed to anxiety among CNN employees about the network’s future and possible workforce changes.
The Washington Times reported that some CNN staffers were bracing for layoffs as the transaction moved forward.
One employee described the atmosphere inside the newsroom as resembling the tension surrounding hurricane coverage, while a television executive quoted in the report predicted significant cuts.
Those comments reflect concerns reported among employees and industry figures, rather than an announced CNN restructuring plan.
Paramount has previously said the combination could produce more than $6 billion in synergies and the information provided about the company’s plans attributes those savings to areas including technology integration, procurement and real estate consolidation.
The savings target has nevertheless become part of the discussion surrounding potential cost reductions.
Questions about CNN’s future have also focused on Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison and changes at CBS News after Bari Weiss was appointed to lead the network.
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CNN employees have wondered whether changes made at CBS could eventually have implications for CNN, although no confirmed plan to change CNN’s editorial direction was provided in the information reviewed.
CNN CEO Mark Thompson addressed employees at a town hall Wednesday, where he said he remained committed to CNN and wanted to stay with the network if Paramount found him useful, while acknowledging that he had not been told how the incoming owner planned to operate CNN.
The merger remains subject to final judicial approval, leaving employees waiting for further details about the combined company’s structure, leadership and workforce.