Paramount mandates 5-day-a-week return to workplace forward of price cuts

Paramount Photos studio lot at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California, on June 5, 2024.

Brian Van Der Brug | Los Angeles Occasions | Getty Pictures

David Ellison continues to place his stamp on Paramount after its acquisition by Skydance.

The CEO and chairman informed workers Thursday that they are going to be anticipated to work within the workplace 5 days every week beginning Jan. 5, 2026, in accordance with a memo obtained by CNBC. Staff who don’t want to make the transition can search a buyout beginning Thursday and till Sept. 15.

“To realize what we have got down to do — and to actually unlock Paramount’s full potential — we should make significant adjustments that place us for long-term success,” Ellison wrote to staffers. “These adjustments are about constructing a stronger, extra linked, and agile group that may ship on our targets and compete on the highest stage. We’ve got loads to perform and we’re shifting quick. We have to all be rowing in the identical path. And particularly while you’re coping with a artistic enterprise like ours, that begins with being collectively in individual.”

The transfer may assist Paramount skinny the herd forward of looming staffing cuts.

Selection reported final month that the corporate is anticipated to lay off between 2,000 and three,000 workers as a part of its postmerger cost-cutting measures. These cuts are slated for early November, Selection reported.

Paramount is trying to take $2 billion in prices out of the conglomerate amid promoting losses and industrywide struggles with conventional cable networks.

Section one among Ellison’s back-to-work plan will see workers in Los Angeles and New York returning to a full five-day workweek within the new yr.

Section two will concentrate on places of work exterior LA and New York, together with worldwide places. An analogous buyout program will likely be provided in 2026 for many who function in these places.

“We acknowledge this represents a major change for a lot of, and we’re dedicated to supporting you all through this transition,” Ellison wrote. “We’ll work carefully with managers to make sure you have the time and suppleness to make the mandatory changes.”