Paramount set for thousands of job cuts

US trade magazine Variety, quoting sources with knowledge of the company’s plans, reported that the layoffs are expected to take place by early November 2025 and will affect between 2,000 to 3,000 employees. For context, Paramount currently employs around 18,600 people. 

Paramount’s new leadership signalled recently that redundancies are to be expected as it looks to make around $2bn in savings following its $8.4bn merger with Paramount.  

Speaking at a press conference earlier in August 2025, Paramount President Jeff Shell said the layoffs would be announced in one go. He stated: “We do not want to be a company that has layoffs every quarter.” 

Paramount has also signalled that it plans to invest more heavily in content. A week after Skydance completed its merger, Paramount paid $7bn for an exclusive seven-year deal for the rights to the popular UFC fighting competition. 

The company also recently lured the Duffer Brothers, the creators of Stranger Things, over from Netflix with a new four-year exclusive deal to make films and series. 

Paramount Global is headed up by CEO David Ellison. 

IBC2025 recently announced the latest speakers in its IBC2025 Conference line-up, where speakers from non-traditional media brands such as Snap, TikTok and YouTube will join global giants such as Netflix, Paramount Global and Walt Disney Studios. Discover more here.