Mark Tran in New York
TED TURNER, the CNN mogul turned Number Two at Time Warner, is bringing his skinflint approach to a company notorious for lavishing perks – from corporate jets to holiday hideaways – on its Hollywood stars.
Time Warner’s habit of coddling its artists was assiduously cultivated by Steve Ross, the company’s previous chairman, once described as the “last pasha in American business”.
Ross would think nothing of lending his chartered boat to Dustin Hoffman or giving expensive works of art to Barbra Streisand.
While such extravagances were curbed under Gerald Levin, Ross’s successor, Time Warner has not entirely shed its corporate largesse, especially in compensation and severance packages for top executives.
Those days could be numbered with the arrival of the penny-pinching Turner at Time Warner, following its $7,5-billion merger with his Turner Broadcasting System. He put pressure on Time Warner to cut costs and boost revenues by $600-million, double the amount it initially predicted after the purchase of Turner.
McKinsey & Co, the management consultant, has been brought in to go through Time Warner’s expenses with a fine-tooth comb. McKinsey will scrutinise Time Warner’s perks, from its small fleet of corporate jets to resort homes in Colorado and in Mexico.
Turner is not even making allowances for his own kin. He told his son Robert, a promotions manager at Turner, that his job would be axed as part of the merger. “You’re toast,” Turner declared over a family meal.