Layoffs begin at Paramount, 15% of employees laid off

Paramount will begin cutting its U.S. workforce by 15 percent today.

Paramount co-CEOs Chris McCarthy, Brian Robbins and George Cheeks told employees in a memo that the planned layoffs will begin Tuesday and will occur in three phases. The first phase begins today and will last through the end of 2024. They added that 90 percent of the cuts will be completed by the end of September.

“The industry continues to evolve, and Paramount is at an inflection point where changes are necessary to strengthen our business. And while these actions are often difficult, we are confident in our direction,” they wrote in their memo. “We understand you may have questions about next steps, and while we may not be able to provide all the answers at this time, we will continue to update you on our progress.”

Executives announced the planned cuts last week during the company’s latest quarterly earnings call, citing a need to achieve $500 million in cost savings this year. The move will result in the loss of thousands of jobs at Paramount, which has more than 21,000 employees (it had previously laid off about 800 earlier this year).

While every department is expected to be impacted, executives write that the immediate focus will be to “remove redundant functions” and “streamline the work of corporate teams.”

The layoffs come as Paramount nears the end of a “go-shop” period in which other bidders could emerge for the company after Shari Redstone and her National Amusements agreed to sell Paramount to a consortium led by Skydance and RedBird Capital.

However, with a deal unlikely to close before 2025, the Paramount co-CEOs must continue to run the company as best they can and execute their strategic plan.

Read the note:

Hello everyone,

In June, we unveiled our Strategic Plan to Return Paramount to Profitable Growth, which includes streamlining the organization and reducing costs by $500 million year-over-year. As we continue to execute on our plan, we announced on last week’s earnings conference call that we will reduce our U.S. workforce by approximately 15%, focusing on non-essential functions and streamlining corporate teams.

This process will take place in three phases, starting today and continuing through the end of the year. We expect 90% of these activities to be completed by the end of September.

We know that saying goodbye to team members who have been instrumental to our success is incredibly difficult. In partnership with our HR leaders, we are committed to providing support to employees transitioning from Paramount and to our teams as they adapt to these changes. During this time, we ask that everyone be aware of how this news may impact your colleagues and offer support to those who need it.

The industry continues to evolve, and Paramount is at an inflection point where change is necessary to strengthen our business. And while these moves are often difficult, we are confident in our direction. We understand that you may have questions about the next steps, and while we may not be able to provide all the answers at this time, we will continue to update you on our progress.

We remain grateful for your hard work in delivering results that our audiences and communities appreciate.

The best of what

George, Chris and Brian