Warner Bros. reorganization (which included over 600 lay-offs) had a significant impact on DC Comics publishing, streaming, and merchandising divisions, losing a number of long-time employees yesterday.
Among those losing their positions are editor-in-chief Bob Harris, senior VP of publishing strategy and support services Hank Kanalz, VP of marketing and creative services Jonah Weiland, VP global publishing initiatives and digital strategy Bobbie Chase, senior story editor Brian Cunningham, and executive editor Mark Doyle. At this time, Jim Lee remains the CCO of DC.
The Hollywood Reporter believes that “Roughly one third of DC’s editorial ranks are being laid off, according to sources.”
The divisions with the biggest losses were DC Universe, where the majority of the employees of the streaming service were let go, and DC’s direct market collectibles division, DC Direct, which has been dissolved as part of the restructure.
The massive changes to DC Universe has seemed inevitable for months, with the majority of their programming headed to The CW or HBO Max (which will most likely absorb all of the DC Universe content when the streaming service inevitably goes out of business).
The timing of the lay-offs isn’t ideal, with the upcoming virtual event, DC FanDome, on August 22.
Stay tuned to Conskipper for more news on DC’s future plans.