Hollywood Recession: Paramount Global to Cut 15 Percent of Its Workforce

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 31: The Paramount logo is displayed at Paramount Studios
Mario Tama/Getty

Paramount Global will reportedly cut is workforce by 15 percent in another round of layoffs amid the entertainment industry’s uncertain future.

The reported cuts will aim to trim Paramount’s spending by $500 million in 2025, with a primary focus on marketing, communications, legal, and technology. Paramount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy announced the changes during a Q2 earnings call on Thursday.

“These actions will take place in the coming weeks and will largely be completed by the end of the year,” McCarthy said. “As you can imagine, these are difficult decisions to make. We’ve incredibly talented people at Paramount and these actions are not a reflection of their contributions. Rather, they are necessary to transform our organization for the future next, transforming streaming.”

The announcement comes after co-CEOs Brian Robbins and George Cheeks unveiled a plan back in June to cut expenditures by $500 million. Per TheWrap:

With the hefty savings goal, CFO Naveen Chopra added that reductions in cost “go beyond head count” and “won’t all happen necessarily at the same point in time.” “We’ve made most of the $500 million savings that you’ll see in the near term is head-count-related, but we do think that there are opportunities to significantly reduce costs in other areas as well,” Chopra said on the earnings call.

Earlier this week, Paramount Global let go of its ownership of the ComicBook and PopCulture brands as Nashville-based Savage Ventures acquired both companies. Both companies were acquired in 2018 and employ a combined staff of over 40 staffers.

The entertainment industry suffered a heavy shakedown this week after Warner Bros. Discovery announced its stock took an $11.2 billion dive after “company reported disappointing second quarter earnings on Wednesday that missed expectations on both the top and bottom lines,” per Yahoo Finance.

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thrillerEXEMPLUM, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google PlayVimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.

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