Mass layoffs at Paramount Skydance will begin the week of October 27

Paramount Skydance employees are facing a broad cull the week of October 27 under David Ellison’s new management regime. Variety has confirmed.

Major job cuts are already expected before the deal between Skydance Media and Paramount Global closed, as part of Ellison and his team’s goal to cut costs by more than $2 billion. The company previously targeted layoffs in early November. The new round of cuts is expected to cut around 2,000 jobs in the US, with additional layoffs internationally.

At an August 7 press conference in New York, just hours after the $8 billion Skydance-Paramount merger was officially completed, Jeff Shell, the ex-CEO of NBCUniversal and now president of Paramount Skydance, told reporters that the company would implement cost cuts and layoffs as quickly as possible and would do so in its third-quarter earnings report in November. would be announced to investors in 2025. Paramount Skydance on Friday announced it will report third-quarter financial results on November 10 after the market closes.

Like other traditional media companies, Paramount – parent of CBS, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+ and Pluto TV, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and BET – has seen a longer-term decline in traditional advertising and distribution revenues as subscribers shift from pay-TV to streaming.

According to Paramount’s most recent annual 10-K filing with the SEC, as of December 31, 2024, the company had approximately 18,600 full- and part-time employees in 32 countries around the world. (Two years earlier, Paramount’s workforce was 24,500.) Prior to closing the Skydance deal, Paramount made additional layoffs, including a 3.5% reduction in its domestic staff in June. Meanwhile, Skydance’s website says it has “more than 500” employees.

Even as Paramount Skydance prepares to cut jobs, it has signed new deals that invest more heavily in content. A week after Skydance took over, Paramount announced a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal for exclusive UFC rights, a deal with Activision to make a movie based on “Call of Duty,” and the acquisition of Bari Weiss’ The Free Press for a reported $150 million. The company also recently lured the Duffer Brothers, makers of “Stranger Things,” from Netflix with a new four-year exclusive pact to make movies, shows and streaming programs.

Meanwhile, Ellison – chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance – is trying to get Warner Bros. Discovery in what would be a much bigger M&A move than the acquisition of Paramount Global. WBD reportedly rejected Paramount’s offer of $20 per share as too low. The Ellison family has 100% voting control of Paramount Skydance; the Paramount-Skydance deal was largely financed by Oracle founder Larry Ellison (David’s father).

Ellison has made a series of new C-level hires since the deal closed, including Makan Delrahim, who advised Skydance on its acquisition of Paramount Global, as Chief Legal Officer; former Meta exec Dane Glasgow as Chief Product Officer; and Roku’s Jay Askinasi as Chief Revenue Officer. Other appointments include Cindy Holland, Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, who play key roles in Paramount’s streaming and film divisions. George Cheeks, who oversaw CBS before the deal, has remained with the company with the new title of “Chair of TV Media.”

In a July 2024 presentation to investors after the Skydance deal with Paramount and Shari Redstone’s National Amusements Inc. was announced, Shell said the Skydance team, working with consultancy Bain & Co., had identified at least $2 billion in potential annualized cost savings at the combined company. Shell indicated at the time that a large part of these cost savings will come from its linear TV activities.

So were Paramount’s plans to begin layoffs the week of October 27 reported previously by Deadline.