Paramount Global, which last year shed 15% of its U.S. workforce, said Tuesday it will reduce it by another 3.5%.
The cuts will take effect Tuesday, according to a memo from Co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins that was obtained by Deadline.
“As we navigate the continued industry-wide linear declines and dynamic macro-economic environment, while prioritizing investments in our growing streaming business, we are taking the hard, but necessary steps to further streamline our organization starting this week,” the execs wrote.
Paramount is still in a protracted waiting game as it looks to close its $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. The transaction was proposed last summer and needs only the approval of the FCC in order to close, but it now appears unlikely to close in the first half of the year as the companies had projected.
President Donald Trump’s crusade against the media (in this case CBS News) is holding up the deal despite the fact that Paramount controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and Skydance backer Larry Ellison are longtime Trump supporters. Along with filing a $20 billion lawsuit over routine business activities at 60 Minutes, Trump’s appointee to chair the FCC, Brendan Carr, has slow-walked the agency’s review of the merger. While mediation talks are ongoing in the lawsuit, hopes have not recently been high for a near-term settlement.
While the new layoffs are targeting domestic workers, the Co-CEOs said they “may also result in some impacts to our workforce outside the U.S. over time.”
At the end of 2024, Paramount had 18,600 global employees, with Tuesday’s cutbacks affecting several hundred in the U.S. As opposed to the multi-phase layoffs last year, which were announced in the summer and wrapped by year-end, the new round is taking effect Tuesday.
“We recognize how difficult this is and are very thankful for everyone’s hard work and contributions,” the CEOs wrote. ”These changes are necessary to address the environment we are operating in and best position Paramount for success.”
The shrinking of Paramount’s workforce reflects contraction across the entire media sector, with Disney recently announcing a fresh round of cuts as companies reckon with cord-cutting’s hit to their pay-TV revenues.
