WarnerMedia Limiting Events And Travel Due To Coronavirus

The spread of the Coronavirus has resulted in several companies making adjustments to their travel protocols, even causing others to pull out of events entirely, and Warner Bros. is the latest studio to make some changes. WarnerMedia recently cancelled the premiere of Superman Red Son for this very reason, and that probably won’t be the last cancelled or scrubbed event according to a representative for Warner subsidiary TNT Comedy in Germany, who in an email on March 3rd wrote: “WarnerMedia has told all its employees to cancel corporate travel, as well as organizing and attending events” (via THR). Later a WarnerMedia representative said that they were suspending international and intercontinental travel, though intra-continental travel was still be allowed if it is business-critical.

Chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports Jeff Zucker sent out a memo to employees laying out the new policies and breaking them down, which you can read below.

“Nothing is more important than your well-being,” Zucker wrote. “While some of these protocols may seem inconvenient, they are being taken out of an abundance of caution to keep you all safe. It is unclear how long these restrictions will remain in place, but we will continue to communicate regularly as the situation both domestically and globally changes.”

Zucker said that news and sports employees face unique challenges, and added: “We will work to be sure that our staffing needs are met, but limit any participants that are not absolutely critical to getting our content out or meeting basic revenue-generating needs.”

It was also said that internal meetings “should be conducted via phone or videoconference. Meetings and gatherings that can be put on hold for the time being or canceled altogether, should be.”

As for domestic travel, Zucker reiterated that it “should be done only if absolutely necessary,” and said that international travel must be approved by him directly. If an employee has been assigned to travel for work assignments but aren’t comfortable, they “will not be required to do so.”

Zucker also addressed general cleanliness, saying “Unrelated to travel, we are focused on other issues related to keeping you safe at the office, including the cleanliness of our work areas.”

“Thank you for your professionalism, dedication, and patience as we work through this together,” Zucker said.