Paramount Skydance Corp, led by David Ellison, plans to lay off at least 1,000 employees this week.
Ellison had earlier promised $2 billion in cost savings, with executives saying the layoffs would be “swift” and “painful”.
Reports suggest total job cuts could reach 2,000, with full details expected in the company’s third-quarter results on November 10.
Paramount Skydance Corp, the newly merged entertainment company led by David Ellison, is reportedly planning to lay off at least 1,000 employees starting Wednesday. The job cuts come just a couple of months after Ellison completed the $8 billion merger of his Skydance Media with CBS owner Paramount Global.
Following the merger’s approval in August, Ellison had pledged to deliver $2 billion in cost savings to investors. At the time, Paramount executive Jeff Shell said the layoffs would be “swift” and “painful”, adding that the company did not want to announce job cuts every quarter.
US media outlets, including Bloomberg and Variety, have reported that the combined entity may eventually cut up to 2,000 jobs, though the exact timing has not been confirmed. The full extent of the layoffs is expected to be disclosed in the company’s third-quarter financial results, due on November 10.
David Ellison’s Plan
David Ellison, son of Oracle founder and Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, has been the key force behind the merger between his film production company Skydance and Paramount Global. He arranged major equity financing to buy out Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone’s National Amusements Inc. (NAI), with backing from his father’s family office and RedBird Capital Partners.
While the merger was announced in July 2024, it was finalised in August this year after a lengthy wait for US regulatory approval.
Following the merger, Ellison was appointed chairman and CEO of the new entity. He has since invested $7 billion to secure an exclusive seven-year deal for UFC broadcasting rights. The company has also signed a four-year exclusive agreement with Stranger Things creators, the Duffer Brothers, to produce new films, series, and streaming content.
Some of Ellison’s recent moves have sparked debate, including his $150 million acquisition of The Free Press, a right-leaning media outlet, and his decision to appoint its founder, Bari Weiss, as editor-in-chief of CBS News, despite her limited television experience.
