“MGM CEO Gary Barber has been fired by the studio’s board of directors — just five months after he signed a new contract that runs through 2022,” Variety reports. “MGM Holdings made the announcement Monday evening, saying it had initiated a CEO transition and an executive search for Barber’s successor. The company said Barber had led MGM ‘with distinction over the past eight years.’”

The company did not disclose the reason for Barber’s firing.

“Sources familiar with the situation said Barber was blindsided by the news Monday in a meeting with board members,” Variety reports. “Barber was said to have been told the board wanted to take the company in a different direction. Sources close to the company said there had been no outward indications of discord between Barber and the board but it’s understood the ouster was done at the direction of MGM chairman Kevin Ulrich, CEO of major MGM equity shareholder Anchorage Capital Group.”