Amid its pending $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, Paramount becomes the latest media company to roll back DEI initiatives.
In a Wednesday memo to staff seen by ADWEEK, co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins noted that the Trump Administration’s mandates require “changes in the way the company approaches inclusion moving forward.”
Among the changes, the company will no longer set aspirational numerical goals that are related to race, ethnicity, sex, or gender of hires. In addition, Paramount is ending its policy of collecting race, ethnicity, sex, or gender data from U.S. job applicants on forms and its careers page, except in markets where it’s legally required.
Additionally, the company has eliminated its “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” qualitative metric in its Short-Term Incentive Plan (STIP) for qualified participants. According to the company, the metric connected 5% of funding for the program to Paramount’s success in progress on companywide DEI initiatives. Instead, the company will now base 10% of STIP funding on its Workforce Culture and Development qualitative metric, “which is focused on building a high-performing and inclusive culture, including through developing leadership and engaging our workforce.”
“With our business objectives firmly in mind, we will continue to evaluate our programs and approach to ensure that we are widening our aperture to attract talent from all geographies, backgrounds and perspectives. That may mean expanding existing programs while ending others,” the executives wrote.
The co-CEOs added that to have the best storytellers and continue to drive success, the company must have a talented and dedicated creative workforce that reflects the perspectives of a variety of audiences, adding, “Values like inclusivity and collaboration are a part of the Paramount culture and will continue to be. ”
The memo comes as Paramount seeks FCC approval for its pending merger with Skydance Media, which the company expects to close in the first half of 2025. In addition, the company is dealing with a lawsuit filed by President Trump against CBS News, which alleges that the program had “deceitful” editing during a Kamala Harris interview.
As Variety noted, Brendan Carr, who Trump named FCC chairman in January, has said the president’s lawsuit against CBS News will be reviewed as the FCC considers the Skydance-Paramount merger. However, The New York Times recently reported Paramount and the Trump Administration are seeking a mediator as they look to resolve the case.