AT&T restructures WarnerMedia as it braces for battle with Netflix, Disney

AT&T is restructuring its WarnerMedia business, according to a memo sent to employees on Monday and seen by Reuters, as it girds for a streaming video battle with Netflix and Walt Disney.

The restructuring comes ahead of an anticipated round of significant layoffs and cost cuts and right after the resignation of two high-profile executives – Richard Plepler, the head of HBO and David Levy, president of Turner Broadcasting — as AT&T aims to reinvest savings into its programming businesses.

“At a time when we must shift our investment focus to develop more content for specific and demanding audiences on emerging platforms, we can’t sustain a model where we invest one dollar more than necessary in the administrative aspects of running our business,”