Warner Music Group to cut 600 jobs to invest more in music

San Francisco, Feb 8

Global music entertainment company Warner Music Group has announced to lay off 10 per cent of its workforce, or about 600 employees, in order to free up more money for music investment across the next decade.

The majority of affected employees will be at the company’s owned and operated media properties, corporate and various support functions, as well as its in-house ad sales function, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

In a memo to workers, CEO Robert Kyncl stated that the company is also looking into the "potential sale" of Uproxx and HipHopDX, as well as winding down the podcasting brand Interval Presents and social media publisher IMGN.

"As we carry out our plan, it’s important to bear in mind why we’re making these difficult choices. We’re getting on the front foot to create a sustainable competitive advantage over the next decade," Kyncl said in the memo.

"We’ll do so by increasing funding behind artists and songwriters, new skill sets, and tech, to help us deliver on our three strategic priorities," he added.

In the note, the company also mentioned that it has already started to inform many of the impacted employees, and the vast majority will be notified by the end of September 2024.

By the end of September 2025, the company expects to save approximately $200 million in cost savings to reinvest into the company.

In March last year, Warner Music Group let go of 270 employees as part of a wider evolution of the company.

Kyncl, in a memo, said that in order "to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us, we need to make some hard choices in order to evolve."