Paramount Global to layoff 800 staff

Paramount Global has confirmed it will lay off 800 staff worldwide, but it is unclear how many jobs -if any- will be impacted in Australia.

CEO Bob Bakish advised international staff members will be notified “over time in line with our local legal obligations in each of the countries where we operate.”

Sources confirmed to Variety about 800 -around 3% of workforce- are getting cut across all divisions of the company, including at CBS, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, Pluto TV, Showtime and cable networks including BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and MTV.

Paramount Global’s cutbacks at the company come as it has been the target of potential mergers and acquisitions, including reports of interest from National Amusements Inc., Allen Media Group  and Warner Bros.

In Australia Paramount owns Network 10 and its brands including Paramount+, 10Play, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central.

Team,

As we shared at Bob Live in January, returning our company to earnings growth is a top priority in 2024. This will require us to continue to grow revenue, while reducing costs. And unfortunately, part of streamlining costs means that today, we will begin the difficult process of saying goodbye to some of our very valued colleagues across Paramount.

We will be notifying impacted employees who are based in the U.S. by the close of business today. We’ll share details directly regarding next steps and will do all we can to support you during this time of transition.

There will also be impacts in some of our offices based outside the U.S. Those notifications will occur over time in line with our local legal obligations in each of the countries where we operate.

To those with whom we are parting ways, we are incredibly grateful for your hard work and dedication. Your talents have helped us advance our mission of unleashing the power of content around the world. We are a better company because of you.

While I realize these changes are in no way easy, as I said last month, I am confident this is the right decision for our future. These adjustments will help enable us to build on our momentum and execute our strategic vision for the year ahead – and I firmly believe we have much to be excited about.

We are coming off of a blockbuster event with Super Bowl LVIII that showcased the full power of Paramount. We’re launching a big slate of new and returning primetime programming on CBS, and last night marked the return of Jon Stewart to The Daily Show. We continue to release films, like Bob Marley: One Love this week, which reinforce our heritage as one of Hollywood’s most iconic movie studios. And we’re coming together as One Paramount more than ever, with continued commitment to our values, culture imperatives and fostering an inclusive workplace.

We should all take time this week to support one another – our colleagues who will be impacted, as well as our teams remaining – in adjusting to this change. Speaking personally, I want our entire team to know that I am committed to sharing updates when we’re able to.

As always, I am continually grateful for your commitment to our company. And I’m confident we will navigate this transition and emerge stronger than ever.

Best, Bob