Paramount to Layoff 2,000 Employees Following Recent Merger

LOS ANGELES – Paramount has begun laying off 2,000 employees following the company’s recent merger with Skydance in August.

A few months after the $8 billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media, the newly formed company began laying off about 10% of Paramount employees, new CEO David Ellison told employees in a memo last week.

Ellison said in the memo that “these steps are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success.” It is common for companies to have layoffs following a merger; however, employees had already been on edge following layoffs over the past few years at the company.

The merger between the two media giants took months of negotiations and required approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

Critics called out recent events such as Paramount’s $16 million settlement with former President Donald Trump over the “60 Minutes” lawsuit, canceling “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and ending all diversity, equity and inclusion programs, all to appease the FCC to approve the merger.

Since the merger, Ellison is already looking to add more acquisitions to the company’s portfolio, potentially Warner Bros. Discovery.

Many divisions of Paramount Skydance Corp. will be impacted by the layoffs.

Cameron Ricciardi is a third-year majoring in Telecommunications & Media Industries, to contact him, email cjr6818@psu.edu.