Paramount Global Starts Round 2 Of Layoffs, Aiming To Cut $500M

Paramount Global initiated a second round of planned layoffs on Tuesday in an effort to reduce overall company costs by $500 million.

The layoffs will be 90% complete following Tuesday’s cuts, a report from Deadline stated. An insider told the outlet that most of the layoffs would be in the streaming division, while previous cuts were made in the advertising section of Paramount. 

The entertainment giant had 21,900 full- and part-time employees in 33 countries at the end of 2023, along with 4,500 project-based employees. Three percent of those employees were laid off last year.

Paramount execs announced in August that the entertainment conglomerate would cut 15% of its U.S. workforce, about 2,000 employees, ahead of a planned merger with Skydance Media.

Deadline also published a copy of the internal memo from company co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins that was sent on Tuesday.

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“Like the entire Media industry, we are working to accelerate streaming profitability while at the same time adjusting to the evolving landscape in our traditional businesses. In order to set Paramount up for continued success, we are taking these actions,” it said. “Days like today are never easy. It is difficult to say goodbye to valued colleagues, and to those departing, we are incredibly grateful for your countless contributions.”

“We appreciate everyone’s resilience and commitment to delivering some of the biggest hits across TV and Film, and for continuing the hard but necessary work to best position the company for the future,” the memo concluded.

One of Paramount’s main properties is the CBS Entertainment group. A union rep for IBEW, which represents CBS employees, said in a statement Monday that employees who were let go included “editors, in media ingest and distribution and show production.”

“We’re disappointed that CBS was unable to find a way to retain these highly skilled professionals in their operation,” IBEW Director of Broadcasting and Telecommunications Robert Prunn said in a statement. “IBEW members have been producing CBS broadcasts since before the invention of television, and these layoffs are a hard pill to swallow.”