More WWE Cuts Planned

More cuts to WWE are planned.

WWE have already carried out substantial cuts in the aftermath of the UFC merger under TKO in September which resulted in over 100 employees quickly losing their jobs. More cuts were then carried out last week in the finance, production, HR, and sales & partnerships departments.

Ahead of the merger it was announced that TKO Group planned to carry out cuts under the euphemism of "cost synergies" and Endeavor President Mark Shapiro provided an update, noting that 75 percent of the "cost synergies" will be completed by the end of 2024. "Production efficiencies" are the next planned area for cuts within WWE. 

"Yeah, look we've guided the street to $50 to $100 million net savings on the on the cost side, we expect to be at the top end of that range and realise 75 percent of those savings by the end of '24. Frankly, I think there's a lot more. I know there's a lot more, just from a production standpoint. Just think of how many events we televise, we put on, we bring the show on the road, we bring trucks out to different cities, whether it's a cloud or it's cameras or it's tape machines, replay, graphics, operators, stuff we can do AI back at our headquarters. In either Vegas for UFC or our Stamford production facility for the WWE, there are a lot of production efficiencies," Shapiro said in corporate speak at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference.

"Even if our production chiefs want to tell me there's not, frankly, I worked at ESPN for 12 years, I oversaw all production, I've been through all the song and dance with every producer who, treats every tape machine and camera like it's a baby and doesn't want to give it up and we're here to improve our margins. So we're going to scrutinise every dollar on the production end of every single one of these events and every single one of these telecasts. And we're going to we're going to realise substantial savings. What beyond the hundred? We haven't yet forecasted, but we'll share more of that as we get into '24."

Beyond WWE employees, over 20 talents were released by the company in September following the merger with UFC, including the likes of Dolph Ziggler, Elias, Shelton Benjamin, Mustafa Ali, and Emma. 

H/T PWInsider