Following the completion of an $8.4 billion merger earlier this month, Skydance Media and Paramount Global are now a new company called Paramount, a Skydance Corporation — and layoffs are reportedly on the horizon for the new entity.
The newly formed company, which oversees media assets like CBS, MTV, and Comedy Central, is now preparing to cut jobs across its business, according to Variety.
The layoffs are expected to occur by early November, when Paramount is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings, impacting around 2,000 to 3,000 jobs. The company is aiming for $2 billion in annual cost savings.
Related: Paramount Global Is Laying Off Hundreds of Employees
Paramount previously laid off 2,000 employees, or 15% of its U.S. workforce, in August 2024. The company has additionally laid off hundreds of employees in June of this year.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, Paramount had approximately 18,600 full-time and part-time employees, per Variety. Skydance, meanwhile, has around 500 employees, according to its website.
Paramount, a Skydance Company, Chairman and CEO David Ellison. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
The cost savings were first mentioned in a July 2024 presentation to investors, following the announcement of the Paramount-Skydance deal. Jeff Shell, the former CEO of NBCUniversal and now the president of Paramount-Skydance, said during the presentation that the company worked with consulting firm Bain & Co. to find at least $2 billion in annual cost savings.
Related: Paramount Leadership Alludes to Layoffs If Merger Does Not Go Through
Shell indicated that the majority of cuts will affect Paramount’s linear TV businesses, including cable networks and broadcast, though he said that leaders “like” some of these businesses, “particularly CBS.”
“We think it [CBS] is a very, very, very strong business with more reach than any other business,” Shell said at the time. “However, I think a lot of us in the business know, we got to run these businesses in a different way as they decline.”
According to Paramount’s second-quarter earnings report, released in July, CBS was the most-watched broadcast network for the 17th consecutive season. The streaming service Paramount+ also saw revenue increase 23% year-over-year, with 24% subscription growth.
Paramount, a Skydance Company, will be led by Chairman and CEO David Ellison, the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. The CEO founded Skydance Media in 2010 and has since led the production of films like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “The Tomorrow War.”
Related: Meet David Ellison, Larry Ellison’s Son Who Is About to Take Over at Paramount
Following news of the merger, Ellison wrote in a letter published to Paramount’s site that the moment combined “more than a century of iconic storytelling” with “the drive of a 15-year-old studio born in the digital era.”
Paramount started trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the new ticker symbol “PSKY” earlier this month following the merger with Skydance. The newly combined company had a market value of over $10 billion at the time of writing.
Following the completion of an $8.4 billion merger earlier this month, Skydance Media and Paramount Global are now a new company called Paramount, a Skydance Corporation — and layoffs are reportedly on the horizon for the new entity.
The newly formed company, which oversees media assets like CBS, MTV, and Comedy Central, is now preparing to cut jobs across its business, according to Variety.
The layoffs are expected to occur by early November, when Paramount is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings, impacting around 2,000 to 3,000 jobs. The company is aiming for $2 billion in annual cost savings.
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