Two of L.A.’s most Hollywood-adjacent lawmakers are jumping into the Warner Bros. Discovery takeover brawl, and they are not whispering from the sidelines. Rep. Laura Friedman and Sen. Adam Schiff are warning Netflix and Paramount that any deal had better come with ironclad promises to protect local production and union jobs, rein in AI job loss, and keep real money flowing into Los Angeles.
Lawmakers Demand Concrete Commitments
In an open letter dated Feb. 6, Friedman and Schiff pressed Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison for written answers by Feb. 15. They laid out eight pointed questions about production strategy, job preservation, AI, and union relations. The letter asks how each bidder will keep Hollywood and California at the center of their production footprint and whether they will “commit to working in good faith to bargain with unions,” according to Rep. Friedman’s office.
What’s at Stake for L.A.’s Workforce
Friedman and Schiff did not have to look far for cautionary numbers. The entertainment industry supports more than 680,000 jobs and pumps roughly $115 billion into the regional economy, yet Los Angeles County shed an estimated 42,000 motion-picture jobs between 2022 and 2024, and on-location production dropped 13.2% in the third quarter of 2025. Those figures, cited in the letter and local coverage, explain why the lawmakers say vague corporate assurances are not enough and are pushing for enforceable guarantees instead, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Studios’ Assurances Versus Cost-Cutting Warnings
Netflix and Paramount have publicly claimed their plans will ultimately help creators and viewers, but analysts are forecasting some brutal belt-tightening that could land squarely on workers. Paramount has been linked to roughly 6 billion dollars in cuts over three years, while Netflix has floated 2 to 3 billion dollars in savings. Those kinds of numbers are exactly what have lawmakers and unions worried that consolidation could mean fewer jobs and less competition, concerns highlighted by TheWrap and coverage of the competing bids from CBS News.
Lawmakers Push a Federal Film Credit
The letter also tees up a bigger federal play. Friedman and Schiff say Congress is working on bipartisan legislation for a nationwide film tax incentive modeled on successful state programs. In their view, that kind of federal credit could help lure production back to the United States and make aggressive studio buyouts a less attractive shortcut to offshoring work. They invite the companies to meet in California or Washington to discuss how a national incentive might fit into any acquisition strategy, according to Rep. Friedman’s office.
Antitrust Review and Next Steps
Even if the bidders say all the right things, the deal still has to run a regulatory gauntlet. Warner Bros. has disclosed that the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division issued “second requests” in mid-January, which extends the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period and signals a deeper review that could delay closing and invite additional conditions. Those regulatory hurdles, together with an expected shareholder vote and possible oversight hearings, mean lawmakers and unions have time to push for firm, enforceable job protections before anything is finalized, according to WBD’s preliminary proxy filing reported by StockTitan.
What This Means for Hollywood
For crews and below-the-line workers, the real test comes down to whether Netflix and Paramount answer by Feb. 15 with specific, trackable commitments or stick to corporate platitudes that do little to calm a workforce that has watched production leak overseas for years. Local unions, studios, and elected officials are bracing for those responses, along with follow-up meetings and regulatory filings, as the takeover drama plays out simultaneously in boardrooms, on Wall Street, and in Washington, according to reporting by Spectrum News.
.jpg){kind=link}