The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has formally urged the U.S. Justice Department to intervene and block the proposed $111 billion deal for Paramount Skydance to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The union’s primary demand is that Paramount Skydance must agree to “substantial and enforceable safeguards” specifically designed to prevent job cuts and ensure increased domestic production in the United States. The Teamsters communicated to the DOJ this week that this proposed merger poses a “direct threat to film and television workers nationwide,” a group that includes nearly 15,000 Motion Picture Teamsters.

To articulate their concerns, the union submitted a detailed report to the DOJ’s Antitrust Division. The Teamsters' opposition to this particular merger is consistent with their stance on previous industry consolidations. For instance, in December, when Netflix had nearly finalized a deal to purchase Warner Bros.’s studios and streaming business before Paramount Skydance emerged with the winning bid, the Teamsters also vehemently opposed that potential pact. They similarly labeled the prospective Netflix-Warner Bros. combination as “a direct threat to good union jobs, the livelihood of our members and the very existence of our industry.”

Despite Paramount Skydance’s announcement in February that the waiting period for DOJ inquiries under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act had expired—implying no “statutory impediment” to closing the acquisition before Warner Bros. Discovery’s board accepted the $31/share offer—the Justice Department retains the authority to challenge a merger even after this period has passed. The Teamsters underscored that the proposed Paramount-WBD merger would consolidate two of the five major Hollywood studios, merging streaming platforms HBO Max and Paramount+. This consolidation, they argue, would “further concentrating decision-making power in an industry already dominated by only a few corporations.”

The union pointed to a “well-documented track record” of previous media industry mergers harming workers, citing Disney’s 2019 acquisition of 20th Century Fox as a prime example. That deal, according to the Teamsters, led to “eliminated production units, significant job losses, and canceled projects.” They noted that “Paramount and Warner Bros. have not yet announced any enforceable merger-specific benefits to workers or standards to combat these risks and have done nothing to suggest they will.”

While Paramount Skydance has projected upwards of $6 billion in cost savings from combining with Warner Bros. Discovery, Chairman and CEO David Ellison has publicly claimed that layoffs will not constitute a major component of achieving these savings, including in recent comments made to Warner Bros. Discovery executives during a town hall meeting. However, Teamsters general president Sean M. O’Brien released a statement highlighting the union’s concerns: “This merger threatens the livelihoods of the very workers who built these studios into industry giants. We’ve seen what happens when corporations consolidate power: jobs disappear, production leaves American communities, and workers pay the price. The DOJ has a responsibility to stop deals that eliminate competition and harm working families. Unless Paramount and Warner Bros. can guarantee enforceable protections for domestic production and labor standards, this merger can’t be allowed to move forward.”

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents 1.3 million members nationwide, reiterated that it will only support a deal that includes explicit and enforceable commitments to increasing and maintaining domestic production, upholding strong labor standards, and providing “guarantees against layoffs and erosion of union jobs.” It was also noted that the Teamsters did not endorse a candidate for U.S. president in the 2024 election.