Paramount Skydance to cut 2,000 jobs in $2B cost-saving push
What's the story
Paramount Skydance is planning to lay off around 2,000 employees in the US. The mass layoffs will begin on October 27 and are part of a larger $2 billion cost-cutting strategy under new CEO David Ellison. The move comes after the $8.4 billion merger between Skydance Media and Paramount Global was completed in August.
Global impact
International job cuts likely as well
Along with the US layoffs, international job cuts are also likely. The company is expected to reveal more about these global workforce reductions in its third-quarter earnings report on November 10. Earlier reports had suggested that Paramount was planning to cut between 2,000 and 3,000 jobs by early November. As of December 2024, Paramount Global employed nearly 18,600 full- and part-time employees as well as 3,500 project-based staff.
Future plans
Potential Warner Bros. acquisition
Ellison has expressed his views on the media industry, seeing a huge opportunity for consolidation. "There's a lot of options out there in terms of what actually might be actionable in the near future," he said at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles. He also hinted at a possible bid for Warner Bros., saying last year Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav stressed the importance of consolidation in the media business.
Information
Ellison on Paramount's stand against Israel boycott
Under Ellison's leadership, Paramount took a strong stand against a proposed Hollywood boycott of the Israeli film industry amid the Gaza war. He said their decision was based on principle: "We made a statement that discriminating based on where somebody is from is wrong."