(DailyVantage.com) – Paramount Global, the company that owns the movie studio Paramount Pictures, as well as the networks Nickelodeon, CBS, and others, will be laying off as many as 800 positions in an effort to streamline its operations, the Los Angeles Times reported.
According to the source, who had knowledge of the matter but was not authorized to speak to the media, the job cuts would be across all divisions of the company. News outlets have managed to get a hold of a memo issued by Bob Bakish, Paramount Global CEO, which confirmed that the company would indeed be letting go of a number of its employees. The memo indicated that the majority of the layoffs would be for positions in the U.S., but a number of jobs in Paramount’s overseas branches will also be affected. The layoffs amount to roughly 3% of the company’s total workforce at the moment.
Paramount’s situation has not been the best in recent years, as the company struggles to keep up with more prominent companies, as well as contend with the proliferation of streaming services and the decline of network TV and movie theater features. While Paramount does have a streaming service of its own – Paramount+ – the platform is hard-pressed to compete with bigger players who can afford to create their own original content while at the same time boasting a much more extensive repertoire of films and shows available for subscribers.
Shari Redstone, who holds the shares controlling the company, has been contemplating selling or merging Paramount for some time now. Media firms such as Warner Bros. Discovery and Skydance have reportedly expressed interest in buying the company from the Redstone family, which has owned and controlled Paramount for many years. The company’s current iteration, Paramount Global, is the result of the combination of Viacom and CBS.
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