CNN staffers crash out after Paramount wins bid to takeover parent co Warner Bros

In the wake of Warner Bros Discovery saying that Paramount’s counteroffer to Netflix’s takeover bid was the "superior" offer, CNN employees have expressed concerns that layoffs are coming. CNN is a division of Warner Bros Discovery, meaning Paramount and its head, David Ellison, will soon be overseeing the left-wing news outlet.

One CNN staffer told Status, "We are doomed." Another said, "We are f*cked." Yet another staffer said, "Everybody is reeling about the obvious things." An insider told the outlet of the mood at the news outlet, "The panic at CNN right now is off the charts."

Netflix CEO Greg Peters said on Thursday that the company was no longer pursuing Warner Bros Discovery. "The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid." Under Netflix’s deal, the streaming giant was seeking only streaming, HBO, and their film studios. Paramount sought to acquire Warner Bros entire company.

Status said that CNN staffers are also panicking "over the suddenly very real prospect that they could be working for Bari Weiss before the end of the year." In October, Paramount bought Weiss’ outlet The Free Press for $150 million, and Weiss was made editor-in-chief of Paramount-owned CBS News.

Brian Stelter wrote for CNN, "Any steps to merge CNN and CBS News — a long-discussed possibility — may be impeded by the fact that the CBS News workforce is heavily unionized while CNN’s is not. The combination of the two storied news brands is both eminently logical – but potentially really hard to accomplish."

One CNN producer told the Guardian about a potential merger of the news outlets, "A Paramount-WBD merger is a disaster for the people who work at both companies, and if Bari Weiss takes control of CNN, it will be the end of the global network Ted Turner founded. I don’t think that’s hyperbolic."

CBS News staffers responded similarly to those at CNN, with one saying, "f*ck, f*ck, f*ck," while another said, "well, f*ck." A third CBS staffer said they expected their entire department to be slashed if merged with CNN and duplicate services are cut.