Paramount Global is reportedly beginning a round of layoffs as well as an executive purge at the highest levels as the advertising market continues to crater, leaving many Hollywood media giants in difficult financial straits.
The parent company of CBS, Pluto TV, the Paramount Network, and the legendary Paramount Pictures is expected to shed under 100 workers in both New York and Los Angeles, concentrated largely in the ad sales group, with CBS Studios and Paramount Television Studios employees also affected, sources told Deadline.
In a major shakeup, Paramount has also said goodbye to longtime CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl and senior executive vice president of programming Thom Sherman.
The cost-cutting comes as advertising spending is plummeting across the board as consumers hit hard by Bidenflation are cutting back on their spending as the price of essential goods including groceries and gas continues to skyrocket to record levels. As Breitbart News reported, the fall in ad spending is hammering Hollywood with companies like Warner Bros. Discovery, AMC Networks, and Paramount all feeling the pain.
Paramount Global — previously ViacomCBS — recently reported that advertising revenue for its TV networks, including CBS, was down 3 percent for the most recent quarter. As a result, the company missed revenue expectations, causing its stock to plummet 12 percent.
Earlier this week, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav described the current ad market as weaker than at any point during the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns of 2020.
If the ad market doesn’t improve in 2023, “it’s going to be hard” to meet the company’s $12 billion earnings forecast, Zaslav reportedly said at RBC’s Global TIMT Conference in New York.
The Walt Disney Co. is planning for layoffs and hiring freezes after the company’s financial results for the most recent quarter fell significantly short of Wall Street’s expectations.
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