Paramount, a big media brand known for its TV channels, movies, and streaming services, is all prepped for large-scale layoffs to save $2 billion. Another layoff, you may think, but Paramount has a different approach. Paramount president Jeff Shell said that they don’t want to “water torture” their employees with surprise layoffs every quarter, but rather “one big” cut off should do (saving months of dilemma). The move came to light after Paramount was acquired by Skydance (the deal closed on August 7). According to a report by Deadline, the founder, Ellison, is carrying out the job cuts. And here’s how Paramount is handling it all.
Reasons for $2 Billion Worth of Layoffs
Paramount appears to be undergoing a major transition: a change of ownership, signing massive deals, and structural changes within the company. These changes came at quite a price for Paramount, say billions of dollars, which will soon impact its employees. Here’s a detailed overview of the situation.
On August 7, Skydance Media purchased Paramount from Shari Redstone for $8.4 billion. Soon after, it invested $9 billion in major deals:
- On August 11, Paramount signed a long-term deal with UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) for $7.7 billion.
- They also renewed their partnership with the creators of South Park for $1.5 billion (making the total nearly $9 billion).
These deals are intended to strengthen Paramount’s content library and make streaming services more appealing and relatable to its audience. Therefore, the management is forced to let its people go, calling the situation “painful.”
How Is Paramount Handling the Layoffs?
On Wednesday, Paramount’s team held a press conference in Los Angeles. Paramount’s president, Jeff Shell, new leader David Ellison, and other top executives shared their viewpoints on the matter.
Jeff Shell said, “We do not want to be a company that has layoffs every quarter. So, it’s going to be painful. It’s always hard, but we don’t want to be a company that every quarter is laying people off.”
He further added, “So, it is important for us to get done what we’re doing in one big thing and then be done with it.”
According to them, the company held an internal town hall to inform the staff about the transitions. They were educated on how layoffs were crucial for the company’s growth. The management also promised to be “straightforward and honest” with the employees before making any information public. Paramount and Skydance together have about 18,000 employees, and they didn’t disclose much about who would be most affected. Furthermore, no details are available about the number of employees who will leave the company.
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