Guests gather in New York City in May 2022 near a Paramount Studio logo. On Wednesday, the media conglomerate eliminated abut 1,000 U.S.-based jobs in its first round with at least another 1,000 to soon follow. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 29 (UPI) — Paramount began large scale layoffs Wednesday joining other major U.S. companies.
The media conglomerate eliminated abut 1,000 U.S.-based jobs in its first round with at least another 1,000 to soon follow, Paramount CEO David Ellison confirmed in a memo.
“When we launched the new Paramount in August, we made clear that building a strong, future-focused company would require significant change — including restructuring the organization,” Ellison wrote to employees.
It represented roughly 10% of Paramount’s workforce in cuts in its television, film, streaming and corporate divisions.
“We want to be as open and direct as possible about the reasons behind these changes,” said Ellison.
Paramount reported more than 18,500 full- and part-time employees in 32 nations by the end of last year.
Ellison stated that in “some areas” Paramount was “addressing redundancies that have emerged across the organization. In others, we are phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and the new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth.”
But over the summer the company took steps to cut more than 3% of its workers.
According to Ellison, the steps were “necessary to position Paramount for long-term success.”
It arrived after Skydance Media and Paramount Global completed its $8 billion merger a few months ago following its approval by the FCC.
And it followed other recent job cuts at General Motors, United Parcel Service, and retail giants Target and Amazon.