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Paramount Global began its second phase of workforce reductions Tuesday, saying that 90% of its layoffs will be completed by the end of the day, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Phase one of the entertainment and media conglomerate’s initiative to slash 15% of its U.S. workforce, which took place last month, resulted in the closure of its Paramount Television Studios division, with all current PTVS and development projects moving to CBS Studios. Several PTVS staffers were impacted, including longtime president Nicole Clemens.
Paramount Global did not specify which parts of the company would be impacted, but the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers indicated that CBS News was hard hit, saying in a statement shared by THR, “IBEW members have been producing CBS broadcasts since before the invention of television, and these layoffs are a hard pill to swallow.”
A third wave of layoffs is expected before the end of September.
Co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins wrote in a memo to staffers, obtained by THR, “Like the entire media industry, we are working to accelerate streaming profitability, while at the same time adjusting to the evolving landscape in our traditional businesses. In order to set Paramount up for continued success, we are taking these actions, and after today, 90% of these reductions will be complete.”
Paramount Global agreed to be acquired by Skydance Media in July, and the $8 billion transaction is expected to close in 2025.
The “go-shop” window enabling Paramount Global to seek other third-party suitors expired in late August.
While the company reported a profit for its direct-to-consumer service for the first time in its second-quarter earnings release in August, its top-line, TV, and film revenues were all down compared with the same period in 2023.
https://www.adweek.com/convergent-tv/paramount-global-kicks-off-phase-2-of-layoffs/