Nearly 2,500 entertainment-industry jobs in Greater Los Angeles are at risk if the proposed Paramount–Warner Bros. merger goes through, according to a Los Angeles County economic analysis. Now the county wants to formally join the legal fight to stop it.

Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath introduced a motion on Tuesday, July 14, directing the county to file an amicus brief and share its economic data with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the deal one day earlier. The acquisition is valued at $111 billion, according to the attorneys general's complaint. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on Horvath's motion Tuesday, July 21.

"Los Angeles must use every tool available to protect good-paying jobs and the entertainment industry that powers our economy," Horvath said in a statement accompanying the motion. "Our economic analysis shows this merger could put thousands of local jobs at risk."

The county's Department of Economic Opportunity estimated approximately 2,500 local jobs are at risk from the merger, with corporate, tech, and real estate positions most vulnerable because of duplicative roles across the two studios. The combined company faces an $82 billion debt load and is targeting $6 billion in savings through consolidation, according to the department's June 2026 report.

Kelly LoBianco, director of the Department of Economic Opportunity, said when the report was released in June 2026 that the county's entertainment economy "remains in a fragile recovery period." Los Angeles County lost roughly 42,000 Hollywood jobs between 2022 and 2024, according to state employment data cited by Politico, and opponents of the merger argue the deal would deepen that decline.

Bonta filed the lawsuit Monday, July 13, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, joined by attorneys general from 11 other states. The complaint alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act and claims the combined company would control nearly one-third of theatrical motion pictures released in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Justice approved the merger in June 2026 without demanding concessions. Bonta told reporters the state's challenge will cost an estimated $20 million and require 20 attorneys, including outside counsel.

Paramount has pushed back. The company said in a July 13 statement that delaying the transaction "will only harm entertainment workers who have already suffered over recent years as technology has disrupted their livelihood." Advisers to Paramount CEO David Ellison have discussed moving the company's headquarters and reallocating much of its planned $30 billion in spending outside California, according to Semafor, though no decision has been made.

The Writers Guild of America filed its own separate antitrust suit against Paramount on Tuesday, July 14.

Next steps

The Board of Supervisors meets at Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 West Temple Street, Los Angeles. Residents can contact the Executive Office of the Board at (213) 974-1426 or visit bos.lacounty.gov before the July 21 vote.