Paramount reportedly preparing to cut 800 further jobs

Halo (Source: Paramount)

Paramount Global is preparing for another round of layoffs, with around 800 jobs set to be axed next month, according to US reports.

The cuts are expected to impact every division of the US media company and follow reports in the Wall Street Journal last month that 1,000 jobs were to be lost.

While the actual figure is now expected to be less than that, a three-figure round of redundancies appears to be imminent, according to a report in Deadline.

These latest cuts follow previous lay-offs and several restructures in recent months, including 120 exits as the company integrated the Showtime and Paramount+ brands, cutbacks at the Smithsonian Channel and the merging of the Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios teams.

That move was resulted in the redundancies of about 25% of the combined division, while MTV News was also shuttered.

Apollo joins firms eyeing Paramount

The news comes amid a swirl of sales talks circling Paramount Global, with its majority owner National Amusements reportedly listening to offers for its assets.

Skydance and RedBird Capital Partners have reportedly held talks about acquiring the National Amusements stake, sending shares surging 14%, while a Bloomberg report last week said that Apollo Global Management was also considering making an offer.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Paramount chief Bob Bakish reportedly met up in New York City late last year to discuss a potential merger.

Paramount is valued at around $9bn and is contending with a debt pile of more than $15bn as, like many US studios pushing into D2C streaming, it has struggled to make Halo and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds service Paramount+ pay.