Paramount Begins Job Cuts as Ellison Seeks $2 Billion in Post-Merger Savings

Paramount Global has begun its first major round of layoffs since completing its $8bn merger with Skydance this summer, cutting around 1,000 employees this week in what will ultimately amount to about 2,000 job losses… roughly 10 per cent of its workforce.

Chief executive David Ellison told staff on Wednesday that the restructuring was necessary to build “a strong, future-focused company,” but acknowledged the human toll. In a memo seen by several outlets, he said the reductions would address “redundancies that have emerged across the organisation” and remove roles “no longer aligned with our evolving priorities.”

The merger, approved by regulators in August, was pitched as a way to modernise Paramount’s legacy business with Skydance’s technology-driven approach to media production. But like many in the industry, the combined company is wrestling with declining television revenue and slower-than-hoped growth in streaming.

The cuts will affect divisions across the business, including CBS News, Paramount Pictures and its cable networks. Insiders say the changes are aimed at achieving about $2bn in cost savings, an estimate disclosed when the merger was first announced.

Layoffs were widely expected. Paramount’s previous management had already trimmed staff earlier this year, and Ellison, who took over as chief executive after the merger, had signalled further restructuring to streamline operations. Investors have pushed traditional media groups to rein in expenses as advertising weakens and the economics of streaming remain uncertain.

Ellison has moved swiftly since taking charge, signing a seven-year, $7.7bn media rights deal with TKO Group’s UFC and acquiring online publication The Free Press, installing its founder, Bari Weiss, as editor-in-chief of CBS News. He has also reportedly approached Warner Bros. Discovery with multiple takeover offers, though talks have not progressed.

The job cuts come as the industry faces a period of consolidation and contraction. Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal have all made deep workforce reductions in the past 18 months, driven by the same problems... falling linear-TV revenues and the growing costs of streaming content.

For Ellison, the challenge now is to prove that his sweeping changes amount to more than just a reshuffle. Paramount’s stock has struggled to inspire confidence, and investors will want to see whether the merger can deliver real returns rather than short-term savings.

At the time of publishing this article, Stocks.News holds positions in Disney as mentioned in the article.