Several Hundred Employees Axed, Representing 3.5% of U.S. Workforce

Paramount Global is paring back another 3.5% of its U.S. workforce, eliminating several hundred jobs domestically.

In a companywide memo Tuesday, the company’s trio of co-CEOs — CBS chief George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, president and CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, and Paramount Pictures head Brian Robbins — cited linear TV declines and a “dynamic macro-environment” for the layoffs. The pink-slips come as the media company, parent of CBS, MTV, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+ and more, is in a holding pattern in its merger with Skydance Media, which is still pending FCC approval nearly a year after the agreement was announced.

More from Variety

Through last summer and fall, Paramount made layoffs and implemented restructuring aimed at cutting 15% of its domestic headcount, affecting about 2,000 employees. The cutbacks were part of efforts to slash $500 million in annual costs. As of the end of 2024, Paramount Global had 18,600 employees worldwide.

“We will be reducing our domestic workforce by 3.5%, with the majority of impacted staff being notified today,” Cheeks, McCarthy and Robbins wrote in the memo. They added that the layoffs “may also result in some impacts to our workforce outside the U.S. over time.”

Paramount isn’t alone among big media companies making job cuts: Recently, Disney laid off several hundred employees across TV, film and corporate finance groups, while Warner Bros. Discovery let go fewer than 100 in its cable TV business.

Separately, on Monday, Paramount disclosed that CFO Naveen Chopra is exiting the company after five years as of June 27. He will join gaming company Roblox as chief financial officer on June 30.

Read the memo from the three Paramount co-CEOs:

Hi Everyone,

As we navigate the continued industry-wide linear declines and dynamic macro-economic environment, while prioritizing investments in our growing streaming business, we are taking the hard, but necessary steps to further streamline our organization starting this week.

We will be reducing our domestic workforce by 3.5%, with the majority of impacted staff being notified today. This process may also result in some impacts to our workforce outside the US over time. As always, any changes will be considered in accordance with local legal obligations.

We recognize how difficult this is and are very thankful for everyone’s hard work and contributions. These changes are necessary to address the environment we are operating in and best position Paramount for success.