Warner Bros. Discovery sues Amazon for stealing employees

Warner Bros. Discovery has filed a lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the tech giant of deliberately persuading its contracted employees to break their agreements, in a dispute centred on the recent hiring of longtime HBO Max marketing executive Pia Barlow.

The suit, filed 21 July in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges intentional interference with contractual relations, breach of contract and unfair competition. 

WBD claims Amazon has been "hurriedly seeking to pirate away a number of contracted employees" rather than build its own production and marketing workforce from scratch, describing the company in its complaint as a "digital bull in a china shop." 

Barlow, formerly executive vice president of originals marketing at HBO Max, was announced by Amazon MGM Studios on Friday as its new head of series marketing, a role she is due to start on 3 August, reporting to global marketing chief Sue Kroll.

According to the lawsuit, Barlow's contract with WarnerMedia Services was not set to expire until 31 October 2027, and she had "freely and expressly committed to remain employed" for its full duration. 

WBD's attorneys argue Amazon knowingly encouraged her to break that agreement regardless. 

"Though it was aware of Barlow's ongoing contractual commitment to WMS, of which WBD is a beneficiary, Amazon has brazenly and deliberately induced Barlow to breach the employment agreement," the filing states, adding elsewhere that "Amazon must be stopped; it should not be permitted to profit from its illegal and tortious behaviour."

WBD is seeking damages as well as a preliminary and permanent injunction barring Amazon from hiring any of its contracted staff before their terms expire. 

An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the suit. 

This isn't the first legal fight of its kind between a legacy media company and a tech platform over executive poaching: Disney sued YouTube last year after it hired former ESPN executive Justin Connolly, a dispute that was ultimately settled out of court, while Netflix spent five years fighting a similar case brought by 20th Century Fox in 2021.

The case is expected to test the enforceability of fixed-term executive contracts in Hollywood at a moment when streaming platforms are increasingly competing for the same pool of experienced entertainment marketing talent.