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Paramount, which recently pink slipped 1,000 staffers, said today approximately 600 employees in the LA and New York offices, at the VP level and below, chose to take a severance package as the company instituted a five-day-a-week return to office mandate starting in January. In a letter to shareholders after its first quarter as a merged company, it said expects another 1,600 staff reductions after unloading Televisión Federal, or Telefe, in Argentina, and Chilevision in Chile, which the company expects to complete in the first quarter of 2026. Telefe operates TV stations in Buenos Aires and other domestic markets and maintains distribution agreements with FTA and Pay-TV operators across Argentina and select international regions. Regarding the 1,000 let go Stateside (with another 1,000 to come) the company said in a letter to shareholders that approximately one-quarter of Par’s senior vice presidents and above were impacted by the workforce reduction, “enabling us to streamline decision-making and reduce the friction that can prevent great ideas from advancing.” The company called it part of a broader organizational transformation “to flatten our structure and enhance agility. “By optimizing our leadership layers and overall talent base, we are now better positioned to align resources with our strategic priorities and invest boldly in areas with the greatest long-term potential,” said the company led by chairman and CEO David Ellison. Overall, the company said it expects $3 billion in cost savings, up from an initial forecast of $2 billion. It is reorganizing the company into three business units – Studios, DTC, and TV Media – streamlining operations and breaking down silos. “This structure ensures that decisions are made in the best interest of Paramount overall, enabling faster, more effective choices and keeping us agile and aligned with our vision,” it said. Achieving efficiencies will require targeted one-time investments, estimated at approximately $800 million in 2026 and between $400 and $500 million in 2027, it said. “While streamlining the business, we recognize that growth cannot be achieved through cost-cutting. Accordingly, a portion of the savings generated through our transformation program will be reinvested in growth investments across programming, technology, and strategic partnerships. “At the same time, we will rigorously evaluate other areas of spend to maximize margins and drive strong free cash flow generation. To this end, we expect to make incremental programming investments in 2026 in excess of $1.5 billion, which include our DTC investments in the UFC, Paramount+ Originals, and third-party catalog licensing and the ramp in our film slate.” MORE
