The logo for Paramount Skydance Corporation.

By Chris Spiker From Daily Voice

Paramount Skydance Corporation will cut about 1,000 jobs in the first wave of layoffs since the media giant's controversial $8.4 billion merger, according to reports.

The company is expected to begin the job cuts on Wednesday, Oct. 29, Bloomberg News reported. A source told Bloomberg that a second round of cuts is expected later, bringing the total number of layoffs to around 2,000. 

Most of the affected employees will be based in the US, while international divisions are planning cutbacks, Deadline reported. Paramount Skydance executives have promised investors that they would cut $2 billion in costs, fueled in part by workforce reductions.

The layoffs come after the massive merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media was finalized in August.

"We do not want to be a company that has layoffs every quarter," Paramount Skydance president Jeff Shell said at a news conference after the merger. "So, it's going to be painful."

The merger happened shortly after Paramount reached a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over his lawsuit that many legal experts called frivolous. Trump accused "60 Minutes" of deceptively editing an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris just weeks before the 2024 election.

Critics said Paramount's settlement was a move to appease Trump and gain Federal Communications Commission approval of the Skydance merger. Paramount Skydance is led by CEO David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison.

Since the merger, Paramount Skydance has drawn more controversy by purchasing The Free Press for $150 million earlier in October. The "anti-woke" media outlet's founder, Bari Weiss, was also named editor-in-chief of CBS News, sparking fears that the legacy newsroom will take a conservative pivot.

The job cuts come as "CBS Evening News" co-anchor John Dickerson announced that he'll leave the network at the end of 2025. Weiss is reportedly considering Fox News anchor Bret Baier as Dickerson's replacement, increasing concerns about CBS News' right-wing shift.

In 2024, Paramount underwent three rounds of layoffs, reducing its US workforce by about 15%.