Delrahim wrote, “More films and series in production means more call sheets, more location days, more transportation, casting and catering work.”
Notably, in a January SEC filing, Paramount said it expected Paramount-WBD to spend less money on content as a combined company. Content spending will decline by less than 10 percent and none of the spending cuts will come from “film/TV studios,” the filing said.
Paramount CEO and Chairman David Ellison has stated that after the merger, Paramount will release at least 30 feature films annually, with each film remaining in theaters for at least 45 days. Ellison has been making this promise publicly since at least February.
Paramount-WBD merger will lead to job losses
Delrahim’s letter paints a rosy picture of jobs and material expenditure after the merger; However, Paramount has previously stated that the merger with WBD would result in job losses as the merged company seeks to save more than $6 billion. Paramount said in a January SEC filing that cost savings would primarily come from duplicating operations in “all aspects of the business – particularly back office, finance, corporate, legal, technology, infrastructure and real estate.”
Specifically, the merger of Paramount and WBD would result in $79 billion of debt.
In his note to the DOJ, Delrahim said the merged company would not reduce the number of employees in production, “Studio operations employees, or skilled trade workers represented by the Teamsters and other unions.”
Delrahim blames fear-mongering and anti-Semitism for annexation concerns
Although Netflix backed out of its deal to buy Paramount in February, Delrahim believes Netflix is trying to turn people against Paramount buying WBD. His letter reads:
Netflix tries to convince the Teamsters and other stakeholders to side with Disney [2019] acquisition of [21st Century] Fox had a negative impact on content production and labor opportunities. To be fair, Netflix’s “sky is falling” narrative is quite a departure from the ground truth of what actually happened.
In its March letter, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters pointed to Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox and hinted at what would happen if Paramount purchased WBD. Disney’s Fox Studios merger resulted in “production units being dismantled, significant jobs lost, and projects being cancelled.”
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