Paramount Will Lay Off 15% Of U.S. Staff, Per New Companywide Memo

Paramount Television Studios announced Tuesday that they would be laying off 15% of their United States-based workforce over the coming months and shutting down one of its television studios.

“A short time ago, we informed the team at Paramount Television Studios (PTVS) that the studio will cease operations at the end of the week,” Paramount co-CEOs George Cheeks, Brian Robbins, and Chris McCarthy wrote in a memo to the staff, per The Los Angeles Times.

“This is not a decision based on how PTVS performed,” the executive team explained in the note. “This move is the result of significant changes in the TV and streaming marketplace and the need to streamline our company.”

The outlet noted that the studio shutting down is the one responsible for making television shows including “Reacher” for Amazon Prime Video, “The Spiderwick Chronicles” for the Roku Channel, “13 Reasons Why” for Netflix, and “Station Eleven” for Warner Bros. Discovery.

Paramount reported having 21,900 full- and part-time employees and 4,500 project-based staff members in 33 countries at the end of 2023, according to Deadline. The company cut 3% of its staff last February.

These mass layoffs will help save the company $500 million by reducing the headcount by about 3,000 employees, the outlet noted. The memo further stated that Paramount will let go of certain staff members “starting today and continuing through the end of the year.”

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“We expect 90% of these actions to be complete by the end of September,” the memo said.

“The industry continues to evolve, and Paramount is at an inflection point where changes must be made to strengthen our business. And while these actions are often difficult, we are confident in our direction forward,” the entertainment execs wrote.

The news comes as Paramount continues to lose money, resulting in controlling shareholder Shari Redstone deciding to offload the company her family has been in charge of for more than 35 years.

A planned two-step merger is being led by Skydance Media. David Ellison’s company has plans to invest $8 billion in the takeover, which starts with an acquisition from shareholder National Amusements Inc. before a merger with RedBird Capital and billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, among others.

The merger has yet to be approved by regulators, which is slated to happen later this month if no other potential buyers come forward.