Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has initiated a new round of layoffs that have directly impacted the marketing team responsible for HBO and Max streaming services.

Reports suggest that the number of employees affected by this wave of layoffs is in the double digits, although it has been clarified that the company’s content division remains unaffected by these cuts.

Sources close to the situation revealed to Variety on Wednesday that these layoffs represent the most recent in a series of downsizing efforts by WBD brands. These cutbacks have been ongoing since the formation of the merged company in April of the previous year.

The move comes after the launch of the combined streaming service, HBO Max-Discovery+, on May 23rd of this year. In a challenging start, the first quarter revealed an unexpected drop in the number of streaming subscribers, IANS reported from San Francisco.

The decline was attributed to the overlapping subscription base of 4 million customers who were simultaneously subscribed to both Discovery+ and HBO Max. It was anticipated that some Discovery+ subscribers would opt to cancel their subscriptions in favor of the rebranded Max.

WBD’s financial report for the quarter spanning from April 1st to June 30th, which coincided with the introduction of the new combined streamer Max, indicated a loss of 1.8 million streaming subscribers. As a result, the combined number of streaming subscribers across HBO, Max, and Discovery+ now stands at 95.8 million.

The same report also unveiled WBD’s decision to raise its post-WarnerMedia-Discovery merger synergy target to over $5 billion within three years. This shift signaled the likelihood of further layoffs in the pipeline, following the earlier cuts that impacted the cable group back in June. At that time, it was reported that around 100 employees were laid off across legacy Discovery and Turner outlets.

Last year in August, WBD had previously made cuts, reducing its workforce by nearly 14 percent through layoffs that affected nearly 70 workers from HBO and HBO Max streaming service.

The latest wave of layoffs has sent ripples through the media industry, prompting discussions about the evolving landscape of streaming and the challenges faced by media conglomerates in balancing their operations in a rapidly changing market. Observers are closely watching for further developments and the strategies WBD will employ to stabilize its streaming platforms and workforce.