The logo and lettering of Paramount Skydance Corporation can be seen at a Paramount stand at the Media Days in Munich (Bavaria, Germany).
Matthias Balk | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Paramount Skydance is slashing nearly 1,000 jobs beginning on Wednesday, just months after the close of its merger, according to a person close to the situation. The layoffs will eventually amount to 2,000 roles, the person said.
“When we launched the new Paramount in August, we made clear that building a strong, future-focused company would require significant change – including restructuring the organization,” CEO David Ellison told employees in a memo on Wednesday morning. “As part of that process, we must also reduce the size of our workforce, and we recognize these actions affect our most important asset: our people.”
The merger between Paramount and Skydance closed in August, weeks after receiving long-sought regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
Shortly after the deal closed Ellison and Paramount leadership telegraphed the upcoming job cuts, and said it had identified more than $2 billion in cost synergies.
In Wednesday’s memo, Ellison said the cuts would address “redundancies that have emerged across the organization,” as well as “phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and the new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth.”
“Ultimately, these steps are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success,” Ellison said in the memo. The layoffs will occur across the company, which includes CBS News, a portfolio of pay-TV networks and the film studio.
Under Ellison’s leadership Paramount has made a series of changes and deals since the summer — including a 7-year, $7.7 billion media rights deal for TKO Group’s UFC and the acquisition of online publication The Free Press. The company has also made three takeover offers for Warner Bros. Discovery in recent weeks, CNBC previously reported.
While it’s the first round of layoffs for the newly merged company, Paramount had been through a series of employee cuts prior to the deal close. In 2024, Paramount’s prior leadership said it would reduce its U.S.-based workforce by 15%.
In June Paramount cut its U.S.-based staff by 3.5%, or several hundred employees, CNBC reported at the time.
Layoffs have been hitting the media industry broadly in recent months as companies contend with the decline of the traditional pay-TV bundle and macroeconomic headwinds that have weighed on advertising revenue.
— CNBC’s Julia Boorstin contributed to this article.
