Paramount Global announced a new wave of layoffs that struck senior staff at its flagship TV brands. The company says the cuts are part of a larger effort to trim costs and align the business with new priorities under CEO David Ellison.
Key Executives Affected
Paramount let go of several high‑level leaders across its entertainment divisions. Teri Fleming, who heads marketing for Paramount Global Content distribution, left the firm. At CBS Entertainment, senior vice presidents Pamela Soper and Amanda Palley lost their positions. Rose Catherine Pinkney, senior vice president of scripted programming and development at BET, also exited. MTV saw the departure of Wendy Plaut, the head of music and celebrity talent, and Amanda Culkowski, who served as vice president of music program development and documentaries. In addition, Margaret Comeaux, senior vice president of music and events production at CMT, was among those affected.
CBS Entertainment Leaders
Pamela Soper and Amanda Palley oversaw current programming at CBS Entertainment. Their roles involved guiding new series, managing schedules, and working with producers. The layoffs signal a shift in how Paramount plans to run its broadcast network. The company hopes to streamline decision making and reduce overhead.
MTV and BET Executives
Wendy Plaut directed music and celebrity talent for MTV, while Amanda Culkowski led music program development and documentary projects. Rose Catherine Pinkney guided BET’s scripted programming and development. Their departures suggest that Paramount will retool its music and scripted content strategies across its cable brands.
Company Strategy and Future Plans
Ellison wrote a memo to staff explaining that Paramount is phasing out roles that no longer match its evolving priorities. He said the company is addressing redundancies that have emerged across the organization. Ellison added that these steps are necessary to position Paramount for long‑term success.
Earlier this year, Paramount president Jeff Shell warned that the layoffs would be painful but stressed that the company does not want to cut its way to growth. He said the goal is to complete a larger restructuring in one decisive move rather than repeat cuts each quarter.
The current round of layoffs is expected to affect roughly 1,000 employees on Wednesday. In total, Paramount plans to cut about 2,000 staff members as part of a broader cost‑saving initiative driven by new owner Skydance. Skydance aims to generate more than $2 billion in cost savings across the merged organization.
Paramount previously announced a plan to save $500 million by reducing its workforce in three phases. Those phases included a 15 percent reduction that hit communications, advertising and Paramount Television Studios, as well as a separate cut of 3.5 percent of the workforce tied to declines in linear TV.
As of the end of 2024, Paramount employed roughly 18,600 people worldwide and relied on about 3,500 project‑based staff. Skydance, the new owner, employs more than 500 workers.
Source: The Wrap
