Warner Bros. Issues Layoff Warnings

Warner Bros. Entertainment may lay off up to 1,000 employees as a result of the ongoing strike by television and film writers. Notices were given to primarily production workers and others involved in lot maintenance and facility management, according to reports from Reuters and the Hollywood Reporter. The Burbank-based studio distributed the notices on Nov. 12, stating the recipients could be subject to layoff after 60 days, the news outlets said. Members of the Writers Guild of America began their walkout Nov. 5 after failing to reach a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Negotiations between the two sides last took place in early December. The main sticking point is over how writers will be paid when their work is distributed online and on mobile devices.