After setting a world record for having the highest number of people watching the Super Bowl, Paramount Global has decided to go through with their plan to let go of 800 employees in order to cut spending costs.
It has been widely assumed that the record was broken due to the fact that this year, not only superbowl fans were tuning in. Pop superstar Taylor Swift recently announced her relationship with Chiefs MVP Travis Kelce, who was participating in the superbowl alongside the Kansas City Chiefs. It was rumored that Swift planned to attend the big game, so millions of her fans tuned in to watch, catch a glimpse of Swift, and support the Chiefs. Across all of Paramount’s platforms, there were around 123 million viewers in total, and over 200 million viewers across all networks.
Bob Bakish, the CEO of Paramount Global, released a memo revealing the plan to lay off hundreds of employees in January, and officially began laying off employees through telegraphs on February 13th, 2024. Many were shocked that he went through with the plan following the success of the Super Bowl, as their revenue has been estimated to be roughly $600 mil. Inside sources have reported that around 800 employees have been laid off, which makes up about 3% of the company’s total employees. The memo sent from Bakish to internal employees stated “we are coming off of a blockbuster event with Super Bowl LVIII that showcased the full power of Paramount. We are incredibly grateful for your hard work and dedication. Your talents have helped us advance our mission of unleashing the power of content around the world.”
Paramount employees are being laid off across the country, even globally. The firings were mostly concentrated in Las Vegas, New York City, and Washington DC, where all of Paramount’s main offices are. To the surprise of many, several CBS news anchors and correspondents who have been with the company for years were laid-off, like Catherine Herridge, Christina Ruffini, and Jeff Pegues. Catherine Herridge had been working as a senior investigative correspondent for CBS since 2019, Ruffini was a correspondent, and Pegues worked as a news correspondent and host for CBS’ News Podcast America Changes Forever for CBS since 2013. All three worked in Washington D.C. and were 3 of 20 CBS employees who were let go.
Bakish released a public statement in acknowledgement of the mass layoffs, saying that “Paramount must operate as a leaner company and spend less,” essentially revealing that Paramount is trying to lower profits in order to gain higher profits, and make the transition from television to streaming without going under. They are struggling to compete against larger and more popular streaming companies like Disney, Netflix, and Amazon, and the company’s stock has been going down significantly, especially since Berkshire Hathaway cut their share in the company by a significant amount. Moving forward, we will see how well Bakish’s plan goes.
