"Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison gave his employees an ultimatum in early September: return to the office five days a week, or take severance. About 600 Paramount staffers chose to quit with severance pay, the company said in its third-quarter shareholder letter on Monday. Paramount offered severance to employees at the VP level or lower who weren't willing to work from the New York or Los Angeles offices Monday through Friday, starting in early January."
"Those severance packages cost Paramount $185 million last quarter, the company said in its quarterly filing. The company filed the expense under "restructuring charges" and said it helped "align the business around our strategic priorities" after the Paramount Skydance merger closed. Ellison had told employees that "in-person collaboration is absolutely vital to building and strengthening our culture and driving the success of our business.""
"Ellison's RTO mandate isn't the only move the new media mogul has made since the merger that has drawn a polarized reaction from staffers. He also installed Bari Weiss as the editor in chief of CBS News, which has ruffled some feathers. Besides the severance-related departures, Paramount also trimmed its workforce through job cuts in October, laying off 1,000 employees."
David Ellison gave employees an ultimatum in early September to return to the office five days a week or accept severance. About 600 employees chose severance, and Paramount recorded $185 million for those packages as restructuring charges. The severance offer targeted VP-level staff and below who declined to work from New York or Los Angeles offices beginning in January. The company reported about 18,600 employees at the end of 2024. Paramount also laid off roughly 1,000 employees in October and signaled that further workforce reductions and divestments are planned as part of organizational restructuring and strategic realignment.
Read at Business Insider
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