Paramount to lay off 2,000 employees shortly after its merger with Skydance

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AP Business Writer (AP) — In long-awaited cuts just months after completing its $8 billion merger with Skydance, Paramount has begun layoffs set to impact about 2,000 employees.

Paramount initiated roughly 1,000 of those layoffs company-wide on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly comment on behalf of the company. The rest of the cuts will be made at a later date, they said.

In all, 2,000 job reductions amount to about 10% of the Paramount's total workforce.

“These decisions are never made lightly, especially given their effect on our colleagues who have made meaningful contributions to the company,” CEO David Ellison wrote Wednesday in memo to employees, which was obtained by The Associated Press.

The prospect of coming job cuts has hovered above Paramount employees for a while now. Ellison on Wednesday reiterated that the company has been working to restructure since the completion of its merger in August — and noted that workforce cuts are “part of that process.”

It's not uncommon for businesses to initiate layoffs following a merger. And when Skydance completed its purchase of Paramount, the combined company said it would look for “opportunities to streamline its business." Paramount reportedly began making cuts in August.

Since launching “new Paramount” just months ago, Ellison has already moved to add more acquisitions to the media giant's portfolio and shake up leadership at CBS, its top broadcast network. On Oct. 6, the company announced that it had bought news and commentary website The Free Press — and installed its founder, Bari Weiss, as the editor-in-chief of CBS News.

The company is now rumored to be eyeing an even heftier acquisition: Warner Bros. Discovery, the home of HBO, CNN and DC Studios.

Neither Paramount or Warner have publicly confirmed talks. But Warner recently signaled that it may be open to selling all or parts of its business — in light of "unsolicited interest” it said it had received from multiple parties. The company has been reportedly resistant to Paramount's initial approach. According to CNBC, which cited anonymous sources, Warner had rejected three offers from Paramount as of last week.