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Paramount to lay off 2,000 employees
shortly after its merger with Skydance
[October 30, 2025]
WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS
AP Business
Writer (AP) — In long-awaited cuts just months after completing its $8
billion merger with Skydance, Paramount has begun layoffs set to impact
about 2,000 employees.
Paramount
initiated roughly 1,000 of those layoffs company-wide on Wednesday,
according to a source familiar with the matter, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly
comment on behalf of the company. The rest of the cuts will be made at a
later date, they said. |
Producer David Ellison poses for the media during the 'Top Gun Maverick'
UK premiere at a central London cinema, on May 19, 2022. (AP
Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File) |
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In
all, 2,000 job reductions amount to about 10% of the Paramount's
total workforce.
“These decisions are never made lightly, especially given their
effect on our colleagues who have made meaningful contributions
to the company,” CEO David Ellison wrote Wednesday in memo to
employees, which was obtained by The Associated Press.
The prospect of coming job cuts has hovered above Paramount
employees for a while now. Ellison on Wednesday reiterated that
the company has been working to restructure since the completion
of its merger in August — and noted that workforce cuts are
“part of that process.”
It's not uncommon for businesses to initiate layoffs following a
merger. And when Skydance completed its purchase of Paramount,
the combined company said it would look for “opportunities to
streamline its business." Paramount reportedly began making cuts
in August.
Since launching “new Paramount” just months ago, Ellison has
already moved to add more acquisitions to the media giant's
portfolio and shake up leadership at CBS, its top broadcast
network. On Oct. 6, the company announced that it had bought
news and commentary website The Free Press — and installed its
founder, Bari Weiss, as the editor-in-chief of CBS News.
The company is now rumored to be eyeing an even heftier
acquisition: Warner Bros. Discovery, the home of HBO, CNN and DC
Studios.
Neither Paramount or Warner have publicly confirmed talks. But
Warner recently signaled that it may be open to selling all or
parts of its business — in light of "unsolicited interest” it
said it had received from multiple parties. The company has been
reportedly resistant to Paramount's initial approach. According
to CNBC, which cited anonymous sources, Warner had rejected
three offers from Paramount as of last week.
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