As the stalemate between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) drags into its 10^th week, up to 1,000 employees on the Warner Bros lot in Los Angeles have been announced that their jobs are in danger.

"It now appears that the WGA's (Writers Guild of America) strike will continue for the foreseeable future, and we must begin to scale back our operations due to the decline in production activity," the Variety wrote, quoting a notice attributed to Warner Boss.

JoAnn Black, senior vice president of human resources said on a January 3 letter to employees that the studio might cut jobs as soon as January 18. However, the notice also said that the cuts would be temporary and that many employees would be called back to work once the strike concludes.

A representative for Burbank, California-based Warner Bros, Scott Rowe, has confirmed the announce saying that the notices were sent to about 1,000 workers who mainly do maintenance works.

The Warner Bros workers will join about 10,000 industry employees who have been idled by the walkout that has cost the local economy about $1.4 billion, according to Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

“You're really starting to see collateral damage to the economy. The question is, will these people get their jobs back when things get back to normal,'' he said in an interview, according to Bloomberg.

Hollywood scriptwriters walked out in early November amid a dispute over how they should be compensated when studios distribute productions in digital form, such as streaming and downloading over the Internet.

The walkout has forced the suspension of numerous television series as well as the postponement of work on several Hollywood films.

In addition to feature films, Warner Bros produces shows such as “Cold Case,” “Two and a Half Men” and “The New Adventures of the Old Christine” that are sold to broadcast and cable networks.