Layoffs are apparently within the works at Paramount.
High line
On Thursday, Paramount CEO Bob Bakish despatched an inside memo seemingly saying cuts, saying a 2024 precedence is to drive earnings by rising income and intently managing prices.
The memo got here amid information that talks have heated up for a Paramount purchaser. Bloomberg reported that David Ellison’s Skydance Media is making a proposal to the Redstone household for Nationwide Amusements, a holding firm that immediately or not directly owns 77% of the voting shares of Paramount and in addition controls CBS.
Between the traces
Within the memo, obtained by Adweek, Bakish notes that the stability between income development and managing prices would require “each staff, division and model to be aligned.”
As the corporate seems to be to leverage the total energy of its portfolio and drive streaming TV profitability, Bakish mentioned Paramount will function as a “leaner firm and spend much less.”
The corporate may also look to develop its shared providers mannequin because it tries to “streamline operations.”
“This does imply we’ll proceed to scale back our workforce globally,” Bakish mentioned. “These selections are by no means simple however are important on our path to earnings development. We are going to proceed to be as considerate as we might be, talk when there may be info to share, and help our groups all through.”
Presently, it’s not identified what number of cuts are on the best way, as Paramount declined to remark.
Regardless of a proposal for Paramount, the potential take care of Skydance Media is reportedly preliminary and will nonetheless disintegrate.
Rumors round the way forward for Paramount have been swirling since late final 12 months after a report that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Bakish had met to talk about a potential merger.
Backside line
The layoff information is the most recent to shake the TV and media business, with consultants anticipating extra consolidation because the 12 months goes on.
In early January, Mike Hopkins, svp at Prime Video and Amazon’s MGM Studios, introduced in a memo despatched to workers that the corporate would reduce a number of hundred jobs. As well as, Bloomberg not too long ago reported that Twitch is shedding 500 workers, or about 35% of its workers.