New Delhi, August 9: Paramount Global, the entertainment company behind Paramount Pictures is said to lay off 15 percent of its US employees as part of a cost-cutting plan. The decision might affect a large portion of the company’s workforce. As per reports, the company is also preparing for a merger with Skydance Media. Despite the upcoming job cuts, Paramount reportedly had a surge in earnings, which has led to a more than five percent increase in Paramount's shares during after-hours trading on Thursday.

As per a report of CNBC, Paramount Global announced during its earnings conference call that layoffs are part of their strategy to streamline operations and enhance efficiency ahead of the merger with Skydance Media. Reliance Industries Layoffs: Mukesh Ambani-Led Company Laid Off Around 42,000 Employees in FY24, Reduced Hiring, Say Reports.

The merger, reportedly announced last month, includes a 45-day go-shop period for allowing a special committee of Paramount's board to seek other potential buyers. The Paramount Global layoffs will likely affect around 2,000 employees. The company aims to achieve USD 500 million in cost savings, which includes these layoffs, as part of a USD 2 billion cost-cutting plan related to the merger.

The layoffs might impact the marketing, communications, finance, legal and technology departments. These job cuts are expected to start in the coming weeks and is anticipated to conclude by the end of the year. According to the multiple reports, Paramount experienced a significant operating loss of USD 5.3 billion. It is a big increase from the loss of USD 250 million they had last year. Dell Layoffs: Tech Giant Lays Off Employees in Sales Department Amid Restructuring Plans for New AI-Focused Unit.

Additionally, the number of subscribers for their streaming service, Paramount+, decreased by 2.8 million in the quarter, bringing the total to 68 million. The company explained that it affected exit from a hard bundle agreement in South Korea. However, the company is expecting that the subscriber numbers will start growing again in the second half of the year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 09, 2024 04:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).