“These decisions are never made lightly, especially considering the impact they will have on our employees who have made significant contributions to the company,” said David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance Corporation, the entity formed from the merger, in a statement.
In August, Paramount announced the layoff of 2,000 to 3,000 employees, a process set to begin between the end of October and the start of November, according to news agency EFE.
Paramount has initiated approximately 1,000 of these layoffs company-wide today, a source familiar with the matter told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on behalf of the film studio.
The remaining layoffs will occur soon, the same source stated.
The 2,000 employees to be laid off represent about 10% of Paramount’s total workforce.
The film department and digital platforms are some of the sectors affected by the staff cuts, according to EFE.
The restructuring of the film studio has been underway since the merger concluded on August 7, Ellison said today.
The director also indicated that the layoffs are part of a cost-cutting process expected to exceed 2 billion dollars (approximately 1.706 billion euros).
Skydance Media and Paramount Global announced in August the official completion of their merger, valued at 8 billion dollars (nearly 7 billion euros), after more than a year of negotiations.
Upon Skydance’s completion of the Paramount acquisition, the newly formed company stated it would seek opportunities to optimize the business.
The operation aims to modernize the film studio’s catalog and strengthen its presence on digital platforms like Paramount+.
