Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery finalized a deal.The $1100 billion merger of the centuryThe merger is now facing strong backlash from grassroots workers. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing 130 million workers across the United States (including nearly 1.5 Hollywood film and television crew members), earlier...StatementThey strongly opposed this mega-merger.
The International Truck Drivers Union has submitted a detailed report to the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division, pointing out that this merger of giants will seriously threaten the livelihoods of grassroots workers and strongly demanding that the Department of Justice intervene to block it.
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The union's core concern lies in the wave of layoffs and the outflow of production caused by the "concentration of corporate power".
In a statement, Sean M. O'Brien, president of the International Truck Drivers Union, bluntly criticized the merger, saying, "This merger threatens the livelihoods of the workers who built these studios into the industry giants they are today." He emphasized that history has proven the consequences of corporate centralization: job losses, the departure of film and television production from the United States, and ultimately, it is always the workers who pay the price.
To support this argument, the union specifically cited the disastrous experience of Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019. That merger resulted in the elimination of numerous production departments, the loss of thousands of jobs, and the cancellation of countless ongoing projects.
Lindsay Dougherty, head of Motion Picture Teamsters, which represents Hollywood truck drivers and behind-the-scenes staff (responsible for transporting equipment, props, and crew members), also criticized: "After the turmoil of the past few years, the film and television industry is already very fragile, and workers are just trying to survive in instability. Another 'mega-merger' is absolutely the last thing this industry needs right now."
The union set conditions for allowing the program: otherwise, they demanded a complete ban from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The union wasn't entirely without room for negotiation regarding this merger, but they presented the Department of Justice with extremely stringent "conditions for approval":
• Legally binding guarantee: Paramount and Warner Bros. must commit to increasing and maintaining domestic film and television production in the United States.
• Strong labor standards: ensuring that working conditions and compensation are not compromised due to the merger.
• Anti-layoffs and protection of union jobs: There must be clear guarantees to prevent companies from using mergers to carry out large-scale layoffs or erode union members' job opportunities.
The unions have stated firmly that if the two giants cannot provide the aforementioned specific and enforceable commitments, the Department of Justice has a responsibility to completely block the merger. After all, this deal would combine two of Hollywood's five major studios and merge the streaming platforms HBO Max and Paramount+, further monopolizing decision-making power already held by a few companies.
Furthermore, Paramount CEO David Ellison had previously stated that he expected to cut up to $60 billion in "redundant" costs after the acquisition, which made the union more wary of a potential wave of layoffs.
A variable in the political power struggle: Will the government foot the bill?
Despite Paramount's promise to maintain an annual release of 30 theatrical films (15 from each of the two studios) if the acquisition is successful, the effectiveness of the union's protests remains uncertain.
The biggest hidden danger lies in the complex political and business relationships behind this merger. David Ellison's father is Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, who has very close ties to the Trump administration. Furthermore, Paramount recently hired Makan Delrahim, who served as the head of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice during Trump's first term, as its general counsel; this personnel move is seen as an attempt to expedite regulatory review by the government.
Despite external skepticism, David Ellison confidently stated in a meeting with analysts that he would work closely with regulators and was highly confident in completing the merger swiftly. This implies that even with strong union pressure, the $1100 billion merger is highly likely to receive the green light thanks to the powerful political and business advantages it enjoys.
