Paramount, which just completed an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, is laying off 197 workers at studios in the Hollywood area — part of larger job cuts already underway in the region and elsewhere.
The company already laid off nearly 300 local workers Aug. 9 in anticipation of the merger’s completion two days before, according to records filed with the state’s Employment Development Department.
And in October, Paramount Skydance Corp. initiated plans to begin laying off half of 2,000 jobs to streamline the business — from which the 197 job cuts are being drawn.
In all, the 2,000 job reductions amounted to about 10% of the Paramount Skydance’s total workforce. But Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is looking for deeper cuts, and recently disclosed 1,600 jobs were shed with divestitures related to Latin American companies sold in Chile and Argentina. layoffs to save $3 billion over the next two years and reduce Paramount’s workforce by 15%.
Amy Dow, executive vice president and associate general counsel with Paramount Skydance, wrote in a Nov. 7 letter filed with the EDD that the media and entertainment company notified 197 workers of their termination between Sept. 29 and Oct. 29, with separations happening in phases through the end of 2026.
“This action is expected to be permanent,” Dow said.
The layoffs are targeting two studios along Gower Street and Melrose Avenue in Paramount’s Hollywood heartland.
Dow made the filing as part of the EDD’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification process. A WARN notice is required when an employer lays off more than 50 employees or a significant percentage of its staff.
“When we launched the new Paramount in August, we made clear that building a strong, future-focused company would require significant change – including restructuring the organization,” Ellison wrote in an Oct. 29 memo provided to employees and obtained by the Southern California News Group. “As part of that process, we must also reduce the size of our workforce, and we recognize these actions affect our most important asset: our people.”
The layoffs address “redundancies that have emerged across the organization,” he said. “In others, we are phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and the new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth. Ultimately, these steps are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success.”
The Los Angeles company is home to a portfolio of brands including Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV and Skydance’s own content divisions in film, television, and animation.