Paramount Starts Cutting 15 Percent of US Workforce

The Paramount Global headquarters is seen in Times Square, in New York, on Aug. 8, 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Paramount Global is pressing ahead with its much-anticipated workforce reduction plan, with a company spokesperson confirming to The Epoch Times that the company has started laying off its U.S. staff.

The cuts will take place in three phases starting on Aug. 13 and running through the end of the year, with the spokesperson saying that when the reductions are completed, 15 percent of Paramount’s U.S.-based workers will lose their jobs.

Three members of Paramount’s Office of the CEO—George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins—wrote in an Aug. 13 memo to employees, which was viewed by The Epoch Times, that they expect 90 percent of the cuts to be completed by the end of September.

“The industry continues to evolve, and Paramount is at an inflection point where changes must be made to strengthen our business,” the co-CEOs wrote in the memo.

“We know that having to part ways with teammates whose contributions have been instrumental to our success is incredibly hard,” they continued. “In partnership with our HR leaders, we are committed to providing support to employees transitioning on from Paramount and to our teams who will need to adapt to these changes.”

Neither the memo nor the company spokesperson disclosed the specific number of employees that will be laid off as part of the cuts, which are part of the company’s effort to save $500 million in annual costs in line with Paramount’s strategic plan that was first laid out in June.

“Looking ahead, we will continue to aggressively execute on our Strategic Plan which focuses on transforming streaming to accelerate profitability, streamlining our organization—including at least $500 million in annualized cost savings—and improving the balance sheet by growing free cash flow and optimizing our asset mix,” the co-CEOs said in a joint statement that was included in the company’s Aug. 8 earnings report.

The company reported an 11 percent revenue drop over the three-month period ended on June 30, 2024, with its TV networks seeing their revenue decline by 17 percent. Paramount’s streaming business turned a profit for the first time, with revenues climbing 13 percent over the quarter.

Paramount posted an operating loss of $5.32 billion for the quarter, due in part to a massive $5.98 billion goodwill impairment charge on its cable networks, a move that acknowledges that this asset class is losing value as customers increasingly turn to streaming services.

Overall, Paramount posted a net loss of $5.4 billion over the period, putting the company $5.97 billion in the hole for the first half of 2024.

“The industry continues to evolve, and Paramount is at an inflection point where changes must be made to strengthen our business,” the co-CEOs wrote in the Aug. 13 memo, which comes as the company is poised to be taken over by Skydance Media.

Shares of Paramount, which own major media brands including CBS, MTV, and Comedy Central, were mostly flat in midday trading on Aug. 13.