Staff at Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount are reportedly experiencing anxiety and uncertainty as David Ellison's $111 billion merger of the two companies remains stalled, with 12 US states pursuing a legal challenge due to reach trial in March. The prolonged limbo is making it harder for both firms to retain and recruit talent, with rivals seen as taking advantage to poach executives, while looming post-merger layoffs are prompting some staff to seek jobs elsewhere.

Executives who have lived through previous megamergers say the "business as usual" message from leadership becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the longer a deal drags on, with the first six months typically the easiest before complications mount. An estimated 2,495 jobs in Los Angeles County and around 6,000 globally are at risk once the firms combine, according to a June estimate from the city's Department of Economic Opportunity. The merger agreement places limits on what Warner Bros. Discovery can do independently and requires Paramount's consent above certain monetary thresholds, and disputes have already surfaced publicly, including stalled negotiations over the future of Comedy Central's South Park.