Skydance names Ynon Kreiz co-CEO as $6bn savings plan brings job cuts

Skydance has a new co-chief executive and a $6 billion savings plan that will include some job cuts.

Ynon Kreiz has joined David Ellison at the top of the company. Ellison is chairman and chief executive, while Kreiz is co-chief executive, according to Deadline.

The company is the result of the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. The combined business is called Skydance. As of 5 October, the deal was expected to close on Tuesday, CNBC reported.

Kreiz will oversee day-to-day operations. Ellison will focus on creative and strategy. The pair have also announced a leadership team for the enlarged group.

In a CNBC question-and-answer session alongside Ellison, Kreiz set out where the savings will come from. The list covers technology, marketing consolidation, real estate optimisation and some labour. Labour is not the largest share.

Skydance is targeting $6 billion in cost savings by the end of 2028. That figure covers synergies, meaning overlapping costs removed after a merger. Kreiz and Ellison indicated the total could go higher.

Some of those synergies will involve fewer staff. Kreiz said the company had been public about that. He said decisions on workforce reduction would be handled respectfully and transparently, with plans communicated to employees.

Ellison and Kreiz had already warned staff that layoffs would follow the merger in an employee memo, Variety reported on 6 October.

Kreiz arrived from Mattel, the toymaker behind Barbie and Hot Wheels. Mattel said he would leave to take the co-chief role at Skydance. Shares in the company closed down about 4% on Wednesday after the announcement, Reuters reported on 1 October. The same report said Mattel had attracted takeover interest from Authentic Brands Group.

For viewers, this means the studios and channels behind Paramount Pictures, HBO and Warner Bros. now sit under one roof. One team will decide what gets ordered, kept and cut.