Paramount plans another 1,600 layoffs as David Ellison team digs in

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After 96 days as head of Paramount, David Ellison announced a positive financial forecast for the coming year, along with plans to reduce the workforce by another 1,600 employees.

During a conference call with analysts on Monday, Paramount’s chairman and CEO, Ellison, publicly discussed the recent merger between his company, Skydance Media, and Paramount for the first time. The $8 billion deal, finalized in August, effectively ended the Redstone family’s involvement in the company.

A key focus for Ellison will be fixing years of limited spending on software development. Paramount is planning to spend an additional $1.5 billion on content next year, significantly increasing the number of movies it releases. They aim to raise their film output from eight to fifteen titles next year.

A key focus for the company is investing in technology, considered a guiding principle for future growth, according to Ellison. Executives are working to grow the Paramount+ streaming service as traditional cable TV—including channels like Nickelodeon, MTV, and Comedy Central—becomes less profitable. Paramount also owns the CBS television network and its local stations.

Paramount is raising the price of its streaming service, Paramount+. Monthly plans will now cost $7.99 or $12.99, though the company hasn’t specified the exact increase. This change is part of a plan to make the streaming service profitable in the coming year.

Paramount announced another 1,600 job cuts, following 1,000 layoffs last month, to improve how the company operates and become more efficient.

The decrease in earnings was partly due to the company selling off its television stations in Chile and Argentina.

These recent job cuts follow earlier layoffs in June, which affected over 800 employees – around 3.5% of the company’s staff – and occurred before the Ellison family completed their acquisition of the company.

Ellison and his team have been looking to reduce the company’s workforce by 15%.

Paramount announced on Monday that they now expect to cut costs by around $3 billion – $1 billion more than they previously stated. They aim to achieve these savings within the next two years.

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So, things are already changing at Paramount. Just two and a half months after David Ellison’s Skydance Media officially took over, we’re seeing a restructuring. It’s clear they’re not wasting any time putting their stamp on the studio, and I’m curious to see what this means for the kinds of movies and shows we’ll be seeing from them going forward.

Paramount’s latest financial report arrives as the company is trying to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery. This potential deal would combine two of the oldest movie studios and strengthen Paramount by adding HBO Max, a wider range of cable channels, CNN, and the Warner Bros. studio in Burbank.

Paramount’s leaders haven’t commented on their attempts to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which has turned down three offers, including a $58 billion proposal to buy the whole company. Supporting Paramount’s efforts, billionaire Larry Ellison—father of an unnamed individual—has pledged financial backing.

During the conference call, his son generally explained the reasons behind any potential purchase.

David Ellison stated that their primary focus is on developing and reshaping Paramount. He emphasized they aren’t pursuing any acquisitions just for the sake of it, but are instead consistently looking for ways to improve and speed up progress toward their core goals.

Paramount’s total revenue for the third quarter reached $6.7 billion, which was the same as during the same quarter last year. However, the company experienced a net loss of $257 million during that period.

Streaming services like Paramount+ added 1.4 million subscribers, reaching a total of 79 million. However, 1.2 million of those subscribers are currently using free trials. Overall revenue for streaming, including Pluto TV, increased by 17% this quarter.

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Jon Stewart, known for creating the highly popular ‘The Daily Show,’ has been hosting the Monday night show since February 2024.

These layoffs happen while 42-year-old Ellison is increasing spending elsewhere, notably a $7.7 billion deal for UFC fight rights and a five-year, $1.25 billion agreement to keep Matt Stone and Trey Parker making new episodes of “South Park.”

Paramount Global has been actively building its content team, successfully recruiting key figures from competitors like Netflix. This includes Cindy Holland, a former head of programming at Netflix, and the creators of “Stranger Things,” Matt and Ross Duffer. Additionally, Paramount spent $150 million to acquire Free Press and appointed its co-founder, Bari Weiss, as the new editor-in-chief at CBS News.

The company committed to a 10-year lease for a new film and TV production facility being built in New Jersey. This will allow them to take advantage of New Jersey’s film tax incentives.

In a surprising turn of events, Taylor Sheridan, the creative force behind the popular “Yellowstone” series, is leaving Paramount. Although his contract with Paramount runs until 2028, he’s made a new agreement with NBCUniversal to develop films and television shows. This move comes after executives Sheridan previously worked with at Paramount left the company following a change in leadership.

The company anticipates $30 billion in total revenue and $3.5 billion in adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization in 2026.

Shares closed at $15.25, up 1%, before the earnings were announced.

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2025-11-11 03:31