Paramount is slashing hundreds of jobs as part of a broader effort to trim down the company’s expenditures, the latest chapter in its transformation since the legacy media brand was bought by entertainment studio Skydance this summer.
In a memo sent to staff on Wednesday morning and obtained by The Hill, the company’s chief executive David Ellison said his leadership team was “addressing redundancies that have emerged across the organization” and will be “phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and the new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth.”
“Ultimately, these steps are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success,” he said.
Ellison, the son of tech billionaire and President Trump ally Larry Ellison, has faced increasing scrutiny over his vision for the company, which he has promised the federal government will represent a more “diverse” set of view points, punctuated by the hiring controversial journalist Bari Weiss to lead CBS News.
Paramount, already one of the largest media companies in the world, is reportedly in talks to acquire fellow moviemaker WarnerBros. Discovery, which also includes brands like CNN and Turner Sports. The conglomerate recently announced plans to put itself up for sale.
Paramount, like others in the media business sector, is facing increasing pressure to cut losses to linear television assets and invest more heavily in streaming platforms for news, sports and entertainment.
Paramount is one of several major companies to announce sweeping cuts to its workforce this week, joining Amazon, Microsoft and UPS, which have all looked to scale back expenditures and lean into artificial intelligence as concerns about the broader economy grow more acute.
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