Huge Cuts Coming to CBS/Paramount

In a move that has been widely anticipated across the media industry for months, the new Skydance-led Paramount is preparing for a significant wave of layoffs, with pink slips expected to be issued around November. For employees and industry observers, the cuts are not a surprise but an inevitable consequence of the costly and prolonged merger.

While the layoffs will be felt across all divisions—from theatrical and streaming to linear television—sources indicate that CBS News and the company's portfolio of owned-and-operated local stations are bracing for a particularly significant impact. These divisions, with high overhead costs and redundancies that can be streamlined, are seen as prime targets for the deep cost-cutting mandated by the new leadership.

The new management team, headed by David Ellison, has been transparent about its goals. Working with consultants from Bain & Company, they initially identified at least $2 billion in cost efficiencies. However, Ellison emphasized during last week's post-merger press conference that the cuts are bound to "exceed" that $2 billion figure. Multiple sources have confirmed that the goal is driven more by the dollar amount than a specific headcount, though the number of positions being eliminated is expected to fall between 2,500 and 3,000. Paramount currently employs 18,000 people worldwide, while Skydance has a staff of under 2,000.

The timeline is aggressive, with managers required to submit their lists of dismissals to HR between September and October.

At the press conference, Paramount President Jeff Shell framed the painful process as a necessary, one-time event to stabilize the company for the future. "We do not want to be a company that has layoffs every quarter," Shell told the media. "So, it’s going to be painful. It’s always hard, but we don’t want to be a company that every quarter is laying people off. So, it is important for us to get done what we’re doing in one big thing and then be done with it."