Paramount says Warner Bros merger helps competition as California job row sharpens
Paramount told a United States court its $111-billion plan to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery will enhance competition, not diminish it.
The claim came in a Defendants' Answer to Complaint and Defenses filed on September 11. A trial in the case is scheduled for March 2, 2027, according to Deadline.
The lawsuit is an antitrust action, meaning a case that argues a deal would harm competition. It was filed on July 13 by a coalition of state attorneys general including California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James to stop the merger.
The stakes are jobs. A September 10 analysis from the L.A. County Economic Development Corporation estimated that moving Paramount's headquarters and other operations out of California would cost the state 2,750 to 5,550 job-years between October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2031. A job-year means one year of full-time work for one person. The same analysis put the lost economic output at $1.01 billion to $2.03 billion over that five-year period.
A full exit would cost more. The organisation estimated California would permanently lose about 28,990 to 57,980 full-time jobs and $10.6 billion to $21.2 billion a year in economic output once a relocation was complete.
Paramount has also pointed to production it says the merged company would fund. The corporation estimated a post-merger commitment of 30 features a year for three years would generate 1,020 to 2,760 job-years and $377.7 million to $1.01 billion in output in California across the same 2026 to 2031 window.
The figures landed after weeks of pressure over where the studio would be based. Chief executive David Ellison said Paramount will leave Los Angeles on October 1 if California's attorney general will not negotiate a settlement over the merger case, according to Deadline.
Paramount later sought a bond reported at nearly $2 billion while fighting the legal battle with a coalition of 12 blue states and the Writers Guild of America, a labour union for screenwriters. An earlier report put the specific demand at $1.8 billion to cover the costs of the suits. The company and the state attorneys general then set a date for settlement talks.
Local government has been counting the possible labour impact for months. Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath introduced a motion in March calling for a comprehensive economic study of the proposed acquisition. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved it unanimously.
That work produced an interim report in June and a Final 120-Day Report on Potential Economic and Workforce Impacts in August, according to L.A. County. A separate report cited in August estimated the $111-billion takeover could eliminate 4,500 jobs in Los Angeles, according to KTLA.
For viewers, this means the fight is not only about who owns Batman, Superman and Star Trek. It is about where films and series get made, and whether hundreds of crew members, writers and suppliers keep working in California.
