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Executives at CBS Entertainment, MTV, BET and more have been hit in Paramount’s latest round of layoffs, TheWrap has learned. Those impacted thus far include Paramount Global Content Distribution head of marketing Teri Fleming, CBS Entertainment senior vice presidents of current programming Pamela Soper and Amanda Palley; BET scripted programming and development senior vice president Rose Catherine Pinkney; MTV head of music & celebrity talent Wendy Plaut; MTV/Paramount+ vice president of music program development and documentaries Amanda Culkowski; and CMT senior vice president of music and events production Margaret Comeaux. Additionally, CBS News’ streaming companion shows to “CBS Mornings” and “CBS Evening News” have both been canceled and its race and culture unit has been disbanded, though that unit’s head Alvin Patrick remains on staff. CBS News will also close its Johannesburg bureau. This first round of layoffs under Paramount’s new CEO David Ellison is expected to impact roughly 1,000 staffers on Wednesday with more cuts to come at a later date. The total cuts are expected to impact around 2,000 employees. “Today has been one of the most difficult days, and I want to take a moment to acknowledge the emotions we are all feeling. We are saying goodbye to many valued colleagues, some of whom have been part of Paramount Media Networks or CBS for decades, helping shape the culture, creativity, and legacy we all share,” Paramount TV/Media chair George Cheeks said in a memo to staff obtained by TheWrap. “To everyone impacted: your contributions have left a lasting imprint on our company. You’ve made us better, and we are deeply grateful.” “While these decisions are incredibly difficult, they are part of the changes needed to help Paramount move forward as a strong, future-focused company as we navigate a rapidly changing industry,” Cheeks continued. “This means making tough decisions, including reducing the size of our workforce – choices that affect people who have contributed meaningfully to our success. We recognize the weight of this moment and remain committed to supporting our colleagues through this transition.” The cuts come as new owner Skydance looks to exceed $2 billion in cost savings. In addition to layoffs, Paramount plans to find efficiencies in areas such as real estate, procurement and workflow. Leadership also said they would look to transform Paramount into a technological leader in entertainment, with plans to use tools like virtual production and AI, as well as leverage Skydance’s existing relationship with Larry Ellison’s Oracle and move Paramount+, Pluto TV and BET+ to a unified tech stack next year. The media giant’s new leadership will address Wall Street for the first time when it reports its latest quarterly earnings on Nov. 10. In August, Paramount president Jeff Shell warned that the layoffs would be “painful,” but emphasized that the media giant doesn’t want to “cut its way to growth.” “Layoffs are always hard, but we don’t want to be a company that every quarter is laying people off,” he added at the time. “So it’s important to us to get done what we’re doing in one bigger thing and then be done with it.” Prior to the closing of the Skydance merger, the media giant unveiled a plan last year to generate $500 million in cost savings, which included layoffs that occurred over three separate phases. That included a 15% workforce reduction that impacted areas including communications, advertising and Paramount Television Studios. It also included a separate round impacting 3.5% of its workforce, which it blamed on declines in its linear TV business. As of the end of 2024, Paramount had approximately 18,600 employees globally across 32 countries and approximately 3,500 project-based staff. Meanwhile, Skydance has more than 500 employees, per its website. In addition to the formal layoffs, Paramount will begin a phased return to office in January. Employees who decide not to return five days a week will be offered a severance package. Despite the cuts, Paramount has also been spending big on content, striking creative talent deals with Will Smith, James Mangold and “Stranger Things” creators The Duffer Brothers, acquiring media rights for the UFC and Zuffa Boxing and greenlighting new Paramount+ series “9/12” starring Jeremy Strong and legal thriller “Discretion” starring Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning. It also is aggressively bidding to acquire all of Warner Bros. Discovery — another significant shift for the media landscape if successful that would give Paramount more scale and an arsenal of content to better compete with Netflix and Disney. Shares of Paramount are up 35% in the past year, past six months and year to date, but are down 18.5% in the past month.
