Bob Bakish

Source: Broadcast file

Bob Bakish

Paramount Global chief Bob Bakish has told staff that layoffs have begun, with an estimated 3% of the company’s employees believed to be impacted.

In a memo seen by Screen’s sister site Broadcast, US employees will learn by close of business Tuesday (February 13) if their positions will be impacted by the redundancy measures.

In the company email, Bakish said: “Unfortunately, part of streamlining costs means that today, we will begin the difficult process of saying goodbye to some of our very valued colleagues across Paramount.”

For members of staff who work outside of the US, the memo stated that these notifications will “occur over time in line with our local legal obligations in each of the countries where we operate.”

It is understood that at this stage the process is predominantly impacting Paramount Global colleagues in the US, with the UK team remaining largely unimpacted by this round of layoffs.

Bakish’s memo continued: “While I realize these changes are in no way easy, as I said last month, I am confident this is the right decision for our future. These adjustments will help enable us to build on our momentum and execute our strategic vision for the year ahead – and I firmly believe we have much to be excited about.”

It has been widely reported that this streamlining of the company will impact approximately 800 members of staff, equating to approximately 3% of its workforce.

Last week, Paramount UK cemented its UK leadership team with the promotion of Sarah Rose to the position of president of Channel 5 and UK regional lead, where she will oversee the channel and platform as well as maintaining commercial oversight of pay TV brands in the UK.

This stiry first appeared on Screen’s sister site Broadcast