American media conglomerate Paramount Global, which owns CBS News, is set to lay off about 800 employees, roughly 3 per cent of its workforce. The move comes just two days after CBS's Super Bowl LVIII became the most-watched TV programme in history, The Guardian reported.
Paramount CEO Bob Bakish announced the move in an internal memo on Tuesday.
The announcement came hours after CBS revealed its broadcast of the annual league championship between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers averaged 123.4 million viewers across all platforms on Sunday.
In the internal memo, obtained by The Guardian, Bakish thanked the ones the company was parting ways with. "Your talents have helped us advance our mission of unleashing the power of content around the world. We are a better company because of you," he said.
“While I realize these changes are in no way easy…I am confident this is the right decision for our future. These adjustments will help enable us to build on our momentum and execute our strategic vision for the year ahead – and I firmly believe we have much to be excited about,” he added.
A report by ABC7 Chicago revealed that Paramount Global has decided to lay off its employees to reduce costs and grow revenue.
Apart from the Paramount Pictures movie studio, Paramount Global owns TV networks, including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and Britain's Channel 5; and the Paramount+ and Pluto streaming platforms.
Paramount Global had around 24,500 full-time and part-time staff across 37 nations and some 5,800 project-based employees on its payroll at the end of 2022.
