Paramount cuts 3.5% of US workforce amid streaming business priorities

Paramount Global is trimming its U.S. workforce by 3.5% in a move to cut costs. 

The company’s plans to cut jobs were announced Tuesday by its three co-CEOs in a company-wide memo viewed by FOX Business.

Co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins said in the message that Paramount was “taking the hard, but necessary steps to further streamline our organization this week.”    

The effort to streamline Paramount’s organization will lead to 3.5% of the company’s U.S. employees losing their jobs, the memo said. 

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It comes as the media company navigates the “continued industry-wide linear declines and dynamic macro-economic environment, while prioritizing investments in our growing streaming business,” according to the co-CEOs.

Many of the Paramount workers being let go were slated to receive notification Tuesday. 

Globally, approximately 18,600 people worked for Paramount full-time or part-time at the end of 2024. 

Under the move, some Paramount workers based in other countries might also be affected “over time,” the memo said. 

Paramount is “committed to ensuring all impacted employees are supported with care and respect during this time,” Cheeks, McCarthy and Robbins said. 

The company, which agreed to a proposed merger with Skydance Media last year that has yet to close, had a market capitalization of $8.6 billion as of Tuesday afternoon.

Its portfolio includes Paramount+, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, CBS and Paramount Pictures, among others. 

Paramount previously cut about 15% of its U.S.-based workforce last year.

Those layoffs, announced in August, “primarily” focused on “redundant functions within marketing and communications” and “streamlining” its corporate structure, “reducing our headcount in finance, legal, technology and other support functions,” McCarthy said at the time.