Employees at CBS News, BET, Nickelodeon, and the entire team that worked on Noggin have been fired as a result of Paramount’s cost-cutting.
As The Guardian reported, despite the success of its original programming like “Yellowstone,” the company planned to pivot its focus towards its biggest global hits and less on American television. In a memo obtained by the outlet, Bakish thanked the workers for their hard work and seemed somewhat empathetic to the situation the layoffs placed them in.
“To those with whom we are parting ways, we are incredibly grateful for your hard work and dedication,” Bakish wrote in an internal memo. “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.”
Bakish continued, “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.”
Though it was not immediately clear which of Paramount Global’s brands would be affected by the cuts, some details have now emerged. Employees at CBS News, BET, Nickelodeon, and the entire team that worked on Noggin have been fired as a result of Paramount’s cost-cutting. In addition to the workers in America who were let go, there will also be more global Paramount employees laid off in the future. In December, CNBC reported that following reports that Paramount might be taken over by another company, the share price jumped by 12%.
It remains to be seen if shedding salary is going to alleviate Paramount’s money hemorrhaging problem. According to the Harvard Business Review, layoffs are only good for short term relief, trading that for a long-term drop in employee engagement and a drop in profitability, which is often their logic for enacting the layoffs in the first place. In their conclusion, the HBR states: “For all companies, planning thoughtful workforce change instead of automatically resorting to layoffs is a better way to address the vicissitudes of technological transformation and intensifying competition.”
Source: Black Enterprise
