After closing a $43 billion merger in April to form Warner Bros., Discovery CEO David Zaslav asked the team to oversee the transition. “Be patient with us,” she told Oprah Winfrey, who interviewed her at Burbank City Hall, according to a source. (Discovery owns most of Winfrey’s OWN.) “It’s going to be a challenge.”
Zaslav also made it clear that he prefers personal work. “I don’t think we’re going back to the office five days a week,” he told Winfrey. But, “I really believe in being together. არ You don’t build narratives on Zoom. You will not receive a mentor on Zoom. I have to go to work. This is where the joy is and this is where the creativity comes from.”
Many employees say they now fear living in the worst of both worlds: they feel pressured to get back to the office and are likely to be available early in the morning. (As previously reported of THR Kim Masters, Zaslav is an old man who sometimes expects West Coast employees to attend team meetings at 5pm)
The source said that Zaslav visited World Bank offices in mid-April and asked why they were no longer full, a question that left one person “alarmed” with many worried about a long-lasting pandemic. Another source confirmed the report, saying it raised fears among some employees who were already worried about job cuts and $3 billion in future synergies.
Adria Alpert Rom, Director of People and Culture, clarified the team on April 25 in a memo, noting that the WBD team had switched to a hybrid work schedule of at least three days a week at the office through April 1.
“We want to build our new WBD culture and start working as a team, and the best and fastest way to do that is to be together,” he wrote. “In some cases, employees deemed essential or who need daily access to the office, tools and equipment will be more frequent. A small number of our employees who work independently and do not need office access are able to work entirely remotely. ”
Another source explains the discontent, saying that the mood among comrades about the early days of the Zaslav regime was mostly positive. “Most people are happy that the AT&T era is over,” the source said. A WBD representative had no comment.
A version of this story first appeared in the May 10 issue of The Gossipify. Click here to subscribe.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
