Warner Music Group Implements Restructuring Plan

Warner Music Group, the entertainment and record label conglomerate, has announced a restructuring plan aimed at optimizing its core recorded music and music publishing businesses. As part of this strategy, the company will reduce its workforce by approximately 10%, resulting in the layoff of around 600 employees. Most of these job cuts will come from the owned-and-operated media properties business.

The implementation of the restructuring plan will involve nonrecurring pretax charges of approximately $120 million in fiscal 2024. In total, Warner Music Group expects to incur a nonrecurring pretax charge of $140 million. Out of this amount, about $85 million will be attributed to severance payments, which are scheduled to be completed by the end of fiscal 2026. The remaining $55 million will be a result of the disposal or winding down of the O&O Media Properties business.

The restructuring initiative is projected to generate pretax cost savings of around $200 million by the end of fiscal 2025. This move comes as Warner Music Group experiences a significant increase in revenue in the latest quarter, driven by the momentum in music publishing.