A leaked report from the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation outlines devastating aftershocks that would follow if David Ellison pulled Paramount Skydance out of California.
A copy of the report published by Politico reads, “At a minimum, relocating Paramount’s headquarters and other operations out of California would result in losses of 2,750 and 5,550 job-years in California across all industries and losses of between $1.01 billion and $2.03 billion in economic output between October 1, 2026, and September 30, 2031.”
Reps for Paramount had no comment on the matter.
In August, news broke of Ellison’s plan to take Paramount Skydance out of the Golden State if California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of other state AGs did not come to the bargaining table and settle their lawsuit to stop the $111 billion merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Ellison gave the AGs until Oct. 1, or he would start packing. The company is considering states such as Georgia, Texas and Tennessee.
The report went on to outline some big-picture stats for if and when Paramount Skydance completed the move: “Once Paramount completed the entire relocation of its headquarters and other operations out of California, the state would experience the permanent loss of approximately 28,990 to 57,980 full-time jobs statewide across all industries, and losses of between $10.6 billion and $21.2 billion annually in economic output.”
On Oct. 1, Paramount Skydance will have to start paying a “ticking fee” to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders of $7 million a day until the deal closes. The trial between Ellison and the AGs is scheduled to start on March 2, meaning that without a settlement, Paramount is on the hook for about $1.3 billion to WBD shareholders.
In late August, progress toward a settlement seemed promising after Bonta and Ellison scheduled a meeting on Aug. 24. In a last-minute move, Bonta canceled the meeting, accusing the Paramount camp of leaking details of their discussions. Paramount denied the accusations, but Bonta did not relent, saying in a statement he won’t return to settlement talks until they put a “lid on their lying leaks.”