Paramount starts first wave of layoffs after Skydance deal, cutting about 1,000 jobs

Paramount will begin its first major round of post-merger layoffs this week, with roughly 1,000 jobs to be eliminated on Wednesday and a larger restructuring plan targeting about 2,000 positions as new owner Skydance pursues more than $2 billion in cost savings. The reductions follow the August closing of the Skydance-Paramount deal that installed David Ellison as CEO and Jeff Shell as president.

Internal guidance reviewed by staff frames the move as a decisive clean-up rather than a series of rolling cuts, with leadership arguing that a single, concentrated action is preferable to repeated waves. As of the end of 2024, the company reported about 18,600 employees worldwide and approximately 3,500 project-based staff, indicating the first phase affects a small share of the total headcount but a significant portion of U.S. corporate roles.

TheWrap reported that Wednesday’s action represents the opening tranche of a program expected to reach roughly 2,000 job eliminations over time, while also noting a phased return-to-office requirement beginning in January; employees who decline to return five days a week will be offered severance.

The company previously pursued a $500 million cost-reduction effort before the merger, which included a 15 percent workforce cut across several units and an additional 3.5 percent reduction tied to pressure on linear television. In public remarks earlier this year, Shell characterized the coming layoffs as “painful,” but said management wanted to avoid becoming “a company that every quarter is laying people off.”

Reporting from Reuters on Monday added that the initial 1,000-person round amounts to roughly 5 percent of the pre-merger workforce and that further details are expected alongside upcoming financial disclosures. The company’s approach mirrors a wider trend across media and technology in 2025: concentrate headcount reductions while redirecting investment toward growth bets in streaming, intellectual property, and next-generation distribution.

For Paramount, those priorities include integrating studio and TV assets under a unified plan, sharpening the slate at Paramount Pictures and CBS, and tightening costs at Paramount+ even as competition intensifies. Investors and employees will be watching whether a swift consolidation now can stabilize operations after years of deal uncertainty and shifting strategies around film, TV, and direct-to-consumer platforms.

Tags: Paramount+Skydance