Paramount Laying Off 2,000 Employees as It Attempts To Cut Costs

Paramount Global is letting go approximately 15% of its workforce. During a second-quarter conference call, the company said around 2,000 employees will be eliminated as it plans to cut $500 million in annual costs.

The staff reductions, which should be completed by the end of 2024, will affect U.S.-based workers in the finance, legal, and technology departments. Also being eliminated will be “redundant functions” in marketing and communications, as well as other support staff.

“As you can imagine, these are difficult decisions to make. We’ve incredibly talented people at Paramount and these actions are not a reflection of their contributions,” said Paramount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy, per The Wrap. “Rather, they are necessary to transform our organization for the future next, transforming streaming.”

Along with the layoffs, Paramount will write down the value of its cable networks by almost $6 billion. The devaluation comes as a part of its merger agreement with Skydance Media.

In the most recent quarter, Paramount’s overall revenue dropped 11%, led by a decline in its film and traditional TV divisions. Its group of networks includes Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and MTV. Companywide, Paramount lost $5.4 billion in Q2 2024 compared to a $299 million loss for the same time in 2023.

Yet, its streaming service, Paramount+, has started to make money. For Q2 2024, the service brought in $26 million in profit versus the $424 million loss for the same period last year. While the service was in the black, the number of subscribers actually fell by 2.8 million to a total of 68.4 million.

Profits in traditional television have been falling for years, and it’s not only Paramount feeling it. Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns CNN, TNT, and HGTV, wrote down $9.1 billion related to its TV business. Meanwhile, Warner Bros.-owned HBO, Max, and Discovery+ increased overall subscribers by 3.6 million, amounting to over 103 million worldwide.