Warner Music Plans $170M Staff Cuts in $300M Restructuring

Warner Music Group (WMG) has announced the final phase of a significant restructuring plan aimed at reducing annual costs by approximately $300 million to 'future-proof' the company and reinvest in its music business. This initiative includes $170 million in savings through headcount reductions affecting hundreds of jobs, and $130 million through cuts in administrative and real estate expenses, with many changes expected within the next three months and the remainder by fiscal year 2026. CEO Robert Kyncl emphasized that these steps are part of a broader transformation begun two years ago to build a more innovative and efficient organization, which has already seen improved market share and chart success for its artists. The cost savings will support increased investment in A&R and mergers and acquisitions, including a recently announced $1.2 billion joint venture with Bain Capital to acquire music catalogs. WMG has undergone multiple rounds of layoffs since early 2023, with this latest restructuring supplementing earlier efforts that targeted about $260 million in annual savings. Kyncl acknowledged the difficulty of these decisions and committed to managing the process with empathy and integrity.