Paramount Skydance to cut 2,000–3,000 jobs to save $2B

Paramount Global’s newly formed Paramount Skydance is preparing for a sweeping round of job cuts aimed at realizing more than two billion dollars in cost savings, with the layoffs expected to be announced in early November in concert with the company’s third-quarter earnings report. Estimates from familiar channels place the total number of positions to be eliminated across the company’s divisions—theatrical, streaming, and linear networks—at roughly 2,000 to 3,000, potentially reshaping a workforce that once numbered in the mid-20,000s worldwide.

The slated reductions come soon after the Skydance-backed merger closed, and they reflect the new leadership’s emphasis on aligning costs with a content-centric growth strategy. David Ellison, who now serves as Paramount Skydance’s chief executive and chairman, has spearheaded the post-merger realignment, and Jeff Shell, the former NBCUniversal chief, has been installed as Paramount Skydance’s president. Together with Cindy Holland, Dana Goldberg, and Josh Greenstein in key programming roles, the team has signaled a sharp pivot toward streamlined operations and aggressive investment in high-profile franchises and exclusive content...