Skydance offers voluntary buyouts ahead of layoffs as it enforces a five-day in-office policy

After the Paramount and Warner Bros. merger, as Skydance finds its footing, the company is getting closer to the impending layoffs. Ahead of that, the company has started to offer voluntary buyouts and is enforcing a five-day in-office policy.

While layoffs in mergers like this one were expected and are unavoidable, the voluntary buyouts come as a surprise. Moreover, the five-day in-office policy is also quite a change.

Skydance's new plans include voluntary buyouts and a five-day in-office policy

As Variety reports, Skydance's chairman and CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz have released a memo on October 26, 2026, outlining the company's next steps. The company is offering voluntary buyouts to some of its employees, which means that it is offering employees money or a financial compensation package if they agree to leave their jobs.

The memo says:

“As we bring our teams together, we recognize that not everyone will see their future here, and we respect that. To give eligible employees the option to move on in a way that works for them, we are introducing a Voluntary Buyout (VBO) Program."

It continues:

“Those who qualify will receive an individual communication with their personalized details and terms, and a window to decide whether to accept this one-time offer.”

Thus, the offer is not going to stay for a long period. It looks like ahead of the layoffs, the eligible employees will be offered financial packages, and if they wish, they can accept them and leave their jobs. However, since it is voluntary, they can refuse as well. In that case, they won't be able to avail this offer later on.

The buyout offers could be a way to reduce the number of official layoffs. If an employee chooses to leave voluntarily, it doesn't count as a layoff and looks better for the company. Skydance has, however, not explicitly confirmed why they are offering buyouts if the layoffs are coming anyway.

Additionally, the company's employees will now have to attend the office in person for 5 days a week. Paramount had already shifted to this model before the merger, but according to Business Insider Africa, many Warner Bros. employees had to come into office only 3 days a week. But now, everyone has to attend the office in person for the entire working week. Regarding this, the memo said:

“We believe in-person collaboration is vital to our culture and to the success of our business."

The executives stated that in a creative company like Skydance, the best ideas come from people being in the same room, sharing perspectives, challenging one another, and solving problems. Thus, the company is adopting a five-day in-office policy. As the memo said on the topic:

"With that in mind, we will adopt a five-day in-office policy across all of Skydance. We truly believe this is in the best interest of our company and our people. We’ve seen the benefits firsthand at Paramount, and we want every part of Skydance to share in them.”

It is yet to be seen how many Skydance employees agree to the buyout offer and leave voluntarily and how many are laid off later. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

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