Some employees at Paramount are getting the red notice, with the company planning layoffs this week and into a later date. The decision has been talked about for a couple of months, with the recent $8.4 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance.
Deadline reports that an estimated 1,000 employees will be laid off on Wednesday, with the majority of those affected being based in the U.S. The original layoffs were scheduled for sometime in November, while Paramount plans layoffs for international divisions in the coming weeks.
The company also plans to lay off an additional thousand at a later date that has yet to be announced. Many might not be surprised at the move, seeing that part of the merger deal had executives promise Wall Street they would cut costs.
A reduction in the workforce is undoubtedly part of Paramount’s plan to reach its target goal of $2 billion in cost savings.
When the merger was announced in August, president Jeff Shell said, “We don’t want to be a company that has layoffs every quarter.”
The previous leadership at Paramount Global had already made deep workforce cuts before the latest restructuring, carrying out three waves of layoffs in late 2024 that eliminated about 15% of U.S. staff.
The reductions hit major divisions including CBS, Paramount Pictures, and the company’s streaming arm, Paramount+. The move was part of an aggressive cost-cutting strategy led by former CEO Bob Bakish, aimed at offsetting declining cable revenue and mounting streaming losses.
It appears that Paramount is trying to make major strides as a company, having also placed its bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Their offer was ultimately denied.
Alongside Paramount, Amazon has also confirmed they are slashing 14,000 jobs, citing the advancement of AI. They expect more layoffs in 2026.
