Paramount to lay off 2,000 people following Skydance merger
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The Paramount Global headquarters in New York. Photo: Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Paramount on Wednesday began informing staff about long-anticipated layoffs following its merger with Skydance Media in August.
Why it matters: Executives from Skydance and RedBird Capital Partners, which helped finance the deal, have long said publicly the merger would yield synergies.
- Executives had said there could be roughly $2 billion in potential cost savings, though they did not specify how many jobs would be cut.
- These layoffs follow a slew of heavy cuts made at the company over the past several years as it readied a major transaction.
- Paramount laid off 15% of its U.S. staff last summer.
Zoom in: Employees were notified Wednesday of the first round of cuts, which will impact around 1,000 people across various departments. Further cuts impacting roughly 1,000 additional employees are expected later.
- Streaming shows "CBS Mornings Plus" and "CBS Evening News Plus" have been shuttered. The Saturday edition of "CBS Mornings" will be reworked as staff on the weekday show are brought in.
- CBS News is also closing its bureau in Johannesburg, South Africa. It also closed the race and culture unit.
Between the lines: In a note to staff Wednesday, Paramount chairman and CEO David Ellison said management wants to be "as open and direct as possible about the reasons behind these changes."
- "In some areas, we are addressing redundancies that have emerged across the organization. In others, we are phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and the new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth."
- "Ultimately," he noted, "these steps are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success."
Zoom out: As of early October, there have been more than 14,000 media job cuts so far this year, up 9% from this same point last year.
- News cuts have been more tempered than broader media cuts. Close to 100 CBS News employees were impacted by Wednesday's layoffs, according to a source familiar with the changes.
Editor's note: This story was updated with more details on the cuts.
