Christi Carras and Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times (TNS)
Layoffs are hitting Paramount Global.
The media giant that owns the famed Paramount Pictures movie studio, plus CBS, Nickelodeon and other networks, will eliminate roughly 800 jobs as part of a broad streamlining effort, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment.
“Unfortunately, part of streamlining costs means that today, we will begin the difficult process of saying goodbye to some of our very valued colleagues across Paramount,” Paramount Chief Executive Bob Bakish said in a Tuesday memo that was obtained by The Times.
The company has been under pressure from Wall Street as it struggles to compete as a standalone entertainment and media empire. Bakish had previously signaled that cuts were on the way.
Shari Redstone, the company’s controlling shareholder, has been considering offers to either sell or merge the company.
Since last summer, multiple entertainment companies — including Skydance Media’s David Ellison and Warner Bros. Discovery — have been eyeing the media empire long controlled by the Redstone family through its National Amusements Inc. holding company.
The company — the fusion of legacy players Viacom and CBS — has fallen on hard times. As the Hollywood business model continues to evolve and become more focused on streaming, Paramount, a company still largely reliant on network TV, cable channels and theatrical releases, is facing trouble from multiple directions.
When Redstone family patriarch Sumner M. Redstone’s health began to decline more than a decade ago, the company experienced a rough patch defined by questionable management and under-investment that weakened the business as its competitors bulked up for the streaming wars.
Following the Viacom-CBS merger in 2019 and Sumner Redstone’s death in 2020, the company was renamed Paramount Global, and a new streaming service, Paramount+, replaced CBS All Access.
As the company weathered…
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