Warner Bros. cuts 250-300 jobs at its studio

Warner Bros. Entertainment said Wednesday it has fired between 250 and 300 employees as a cost-cutting measure.

The cuts come during a record year for the studio. But Warner Bros., like other entertainment companies, is bracing for lower revenue in coming years as the growth of the DVD market continues to slow and the TV syndication market shrinks.

"We had to take some difficult measures to position the company for the future," Warner Bros. spokesman Scott Rowe said.

"We acknowledge that these decisions have affected people's livelihoods and to that end, we examined every aspect of our business in order to cut costs responsibly and to keep staff reductions to a minimum," he said.

All the cuts were at the studio's Burbank operations, where Warner Bros. employs 4,500 workers.

The cuts were across every division and at all levels, Rowe said.

Warner Bros. is a division of Time Warner Inc., the world's largest media company, which Wednesday reported an 80 percent increase in third-quarter earnings. Shares of Time Warner rose 33 cents, or 1.9 percent, to close at $17.90 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, where they have traded in a 52-week range of $16.10 to $19.90.

The company is under pressure from investors to raise its slumping stock price and cut costs, AP reported. V.A.