Skydance Mandates Five-Day Office Work and Offers Buyouts

Skydance leadership has introduced a five-day in-office work requirement and a voluntary employee buyout program following the combination of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. David Ellison and co-chief executive Ynon Kreiz announced the measures in a Monday morning memo to employees, outlining expectations for workplace collaboration and options for eligible staff who choose to leave the company.

The memo arrived roughly three weeks after Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery came together under Skydance. According to the message, the company intends to strengthen in-person collaboration while offering eligible employees an opportunity to depart voluntarily.

Ellison and Kreiz described office attendance as an important element of the company's working culture and business performance. Their memo stated that employees would be expected to report to the office five days per week.

In the same message, the executives acknowledged that the combined organization might not suit every employee's future plans.

"As we bring our teams together, we recognize that not everyone will see their future here, and we respect that," Ellison and Kreiz wrote.

The executives then outlined the voluntary departure option available to eligible staff as the company integrates its workforce across the newly combined organization.

"To give eligible employees the option to move on in a way that works for them, we are introducing a Voluntary Buyout (VBO) Program," Ellison and Kreiz wrote.

Following the companywide announcement, leaders of Skydance's news divisions sent separate messages to their employees. The communications highlighted differing approaches at CNN and CBS News as their respective leadership teams addressed the changes.

According to copies of the internal memos obtained by Status, CNN chief Mark Thompson took a notably different approach from CBS News leaders Bari Weiss and Tom Cibrowski. The messages followed the announcement of the new workplace policy and voluntary buyout program.

The available report does not disclose the full contents of the news division leaders' messages. Status indicates that its report on the contrasting responses contains additional material available only to paid subscribers.