Paramount, led by David Ellison, today (October 29) began cutting back on its workforce by laying off approximately 1,000 employees, mostly in the United States.
Another 1,000 employees will be laid off soon, with reports suggesting that the company’s workforce of 18,600 will be cut by around 10% by the end of 2024. The former Paramount Global has conducted two rounds of layoffs, one in 2024 and the other in June of this year.
The sectors affected are thought to be film, television, streaming, and corporate. Reports have named CBS as a target, with many senior executives leaving the linear cable business.
Company executives aim to save $2 billion. Paramount announced last week that it had sold Argentine broadcaster Telefe in a deal worth $100 million, according to reports.
“When we launched a new Paramount in August, we made it clear that building a strong, future-ready company required significant change, including restructuring our organization. As part of that process, we also needed to reduce the size of our workforce, and we recognize that these actions impact our most important asset: our people,” CEO Ellison said in a memo to employees Wednesday.
Since completing its $8.4 billion merger with Paramount Global in the summer, Ellison and his team have been aggressively strengthening the company’s assets and relationships.
They signed talent deals with the Duffer Brothers and Will Smith, inked a $7.7 billion UFC partnership, acquired Free Press in a deal reportedly worth $150 million, and signed a distribution deal with Legendary Entertainment. Ellison and his executives reportedly worked at Warner Bros. Discovery several times.
The CEO added, “We want to be as open and candid as possible about the reasons behind these changes. In some areas, we are addressing redundancies that have occurred across the organization; in other areas, we are phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth. Ultimately, these actions are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success.”
Amazon MGM Studios is also laying off staff from its television operations as part of a broader plan to lay off about 14,000 Amazon employees, with further job cuts expected in 2026.
Mr. Ellison’s memo is as follows.
Dear everyone,
When we launched the new Paramount in August, we made it clear that building a strong, future-ready company required significant changes, including a restructuring of our organization. As part of that process, we will also need to reduce the size of our workforce, and we recognize that these actions impact our most important asset: our employees.
We want to be as open and candid as possible about the reasons behind these changes. Some areas are grappling with the layoffs that have occurred across the organization. Other departments are phasing out roles that no longer align with evolving priorities and new structures designed to strengthen our focus on growth. Ultimately, these steps are necessary for Paramount’s long-term success.
That being said, today we begin the difficult process of informing the entire company of affected team members. These decisions are not taken lightly, especially when considering the impact on colleagues who have made meaningful contributions to the company. To this end, we are committed to supporting all of our employees through this transition. Members of our human resources team will work closely with business unit leaders to share detailed information regarding benefits and transition services (…).
We deeply appreciate your diligence, professionalism, and resilience during this period of transition. We believe the best is yet to come for Paramount and are committed to building a strong foundation for the future.
thank you,
(Tag Translate) Paramount Pictures
