Paramount’s mass round of layoffs will be happening sooner rather than later. The cuts are expected to happen before the company’s earnings call on Nov. 10 and may even happen as soon as the week of Oct. 27, according to multiple media reports.
Exactly how many employees will be impacted remains unclear. Globally, the number has been reported to be as high as 2,500 to 3,000 positions. But in the United States, that number has been put at roughly 2,000 employees. Those cuts are expected to include the theatrical, streaming and linear divisions. This upcoming round of October layoffs is reportedly only the first round. More rounds of layoffs are expected to continue throughout the end of the year.
Several major Paramount employees have already departed the company. Former co-CEOs Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins announced their departures shortly after the merger went through. They were followed by Marc Weinstock, president of worldwide marketing and distribution; Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution; and Liza Burnett Fefferman, the executive vice president and head of communications, just to name a few of the company’s many departures.
In September of 2024, Paramount reduced its workforce by 15% in a round of cuts that hit the teams for communications, advertising and Paramount Television Studios the hardest. By December of 2024, Paramount had 18,600 employees. The company then cut 3.5% of its U.S. staff in June, roughly a month ahead of the company’s acquisition by Skydance. Linear declines were blamed for those cuts.
This upcoming earnings call was already expected to be a big one for Paramount. David Ellison is expected to lead earnings for the first time since the Skydance acquisition.
