by Paramount, owner of television networks such as Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central, is laying off hundreds of employees, cutting costs as it continues its painful transition away from traditional television.
About 3 percent of the company’s roughly 24,500 employees will be affected by the layoffs, according to a person familiar with the cuts, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential corporate information.
Bob Bakish, Paramount’s chief executive, said in a memo to employees that the cuts were part of an attempt to “return the company to profit growth.”
“While I am aware that these changes are not easy, as I said last month, I am confident that this is the right decision for our future,” Bakish wrote. “These adjustments will help us build on our momentum and execute our strategic vision for the coming year, and I firmly believe we have a lot to be excited about.”
Paramount finds itself at a crossroads. The company’s majority shareholder, Shari Redstone, is considering selling her stake in the company, a deal that could end decades of family ownership. Skydance, the media company that helped produce Paramount franchises like “Top Gun” and “Mission: Impossible,” has expressed interest, but no deal has yet materialized.
Like all its peers in traditional media, Paramount has struggled to keep pace with Netflix as streaming services replace traditional television and movies. The company’s largest streaming service, Paramount+, has yet to become profitable, putting a drag on the company’s profits. Paramount’s streaming division, which also includes the ad-supported service Pluto TV, lost more than $1 billion last year.
Although viewership for Paramount’s cable networks is in decline, parts of its television business remain resilient. Paramount’s CBS network, which broadcast the Super Bowl on Sunday, generated record ratings for the game, in which the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in overtime. According to Nielsen, around 123.4 million people watched the game, up from 115.1 million the previous year.
