Skydance offers employee buyouts as company mandates five-day office workweek

Skydance is offering voluntary buyouts to employees unwilling to return to the office five days a week, extending a workplace policy previously implemented at Paramount to the company’s newly acquired Warner Bros. Discovery operations.

Chairman and CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz announced the policy in a memo to employees Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, less than three weeks after Paramount completed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The policy will be introduced in phases, with employees receiving advance notice before the changes take effect.

Skydance executives said the decision reflects their preference for employees working together in person, arguing that office attendance improves collaboration, communication and workplace culture.

“We truly believe this is in the best interest of our company and our people,” Ellison and Kreiz wrote in a memo. “We’ve seen the benefits firsthand at Paramount, and we want every part of Skydance to share in them.”

Employees who do not wish to comply with the five-day requirement may be eligible for a voluntary buyout program.

The company has not disclosed the financial terms of the offers, eligibility requirements or how many employees could participate.

The announcement represents a significant change for many former Warner Bros. Discovery employees, who previously operated under a hybrid schedule requiring three days of office attendance each week.

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Paramount had already adopted a five-day office requirement for employees in New York, New York, and Los Angeles, California, beginning in January 2026. The company offered separation packages to employees unwilling to comply before expanding the policy to additional workers.

The latest mandate follows the Oct. 6, 2026, completion of Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The combined company, operating under the Skydance name, also includes CBS, HBO, Paramount+, HBO Max and cable networks including CNN, TNT, TBS, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.

Ellison and Kreiz have identified approximately $6 billion in potential cost savings from the merger, raising concerns about staffing reductions as the company consolidates overlapping operations.

In an earlier communication to employees following the acquisition, the executives acknowledged that integrating the businesses would involve difficult workforce decisions.

The voluntary buyout program provides another avenue for reducing staffing levels as the company reorganizes its operations, although Skydance has not said how many departures it expects.

It also introduces additional uncertainty for employees at CBS News, CNN and the company’s other television operations as management determines how to combine resources and eliminate overlapping functions.

Skydance has not publicly specified whether particular departments, newsrooms or television stations will receive exemptions from the new attendance requirement.

The company also has not announced when the buyout program will open or established a deadline for employees to accept an offer.