Layoffs hit CBS, Paramount+ and cable units

Paramount is executing deep layoffs across television divisions as the Skydance era takes hold. Roughly 2,000 jobs will be eliminated companywide, with cuts reported at CBS Entertainment, Paramount+, MTV and other network groups. The move follows months of integration planning and a mandate to streamline overlapping teams in marketing, PR, programming and business affairs. Executives frame the reduction as necessary to refocus spending on priority franchises, live sports rights, and a smaller slate of “event” series.

For staff, the pain is immediate: show pipelines face resets, campaign calendars are being rebuilt, and third-party producers are bracing for tightened greenlights. The impact on daytime, late-night and unscripted remains a live question. Cost discipline aims to stabilize balance sheets in a soft ad market and amid higher debt costs post-merger.

What it means for Hollywood and viewers

Studios across town are watching. Paramount’s scale-back may ripple into talent deals, with more short-order seasons and co-financing asks. Streamer strategy appears to favor fewer originals with heavier promotion, while library curation and sports become churn-fighters. Viewers could see leaner menus but stronger tentpoles as the company steers toward profitability metrics over raw subscriber growth. For unions and below-the-line crews, the near-term challenge is fewer shoots; for rivals, a chance to poach franchises that no longer fit Paramount’s narrower brief.