Job cuts have started at Paramount following the takeover by Skydance, according to a memo by CEO David Ellison
Reports on the "bloodbath" put the number of roles going at 1,000 with losses at linear broadcast, cable networks, marketing, communications, business affairs and programming.
The impact in Australia, where Paramount owns Network 10, is unknown.
However, Variety reported another round of 1,000 jobs, believed to be more focused on international operations, is expected in the coming weeks.
Ellison, the son of Oracle founder Larry, said building a strong, future-focused company will require significant change, including restructuring.
“As part of that process, we must also reduce the size of our workforce,” he said in the memo to staff.
This included redundancies and phasing out roles no longer needed.
He said evolving priorities and a new structure are designed to strengthen focus on growth.
“Ultimately, these steps are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success,” he said.
Ellison, the founder of Skydance, has previously said he expects to exceed $2 billion in planned synergies from the $US8 billion takeover of Paramount.
He plans to use savings to build the streaming businesses and upgrade the company’s technology systems.
In the latest results from Paramount, the June quarter, the company posted a 1% rise in revenue to $US6.85 billion.
TV Media fell 6% to $4.01 billion, including a 4% drop in advertising revenue.
Revenue at Direct-to-Consumer, which includes streaming platform Paramount+, increased 15% to $2.16 billion. Revenue at Paramount+, with 77.7 million subscribers, grew 23%.
Ellison has his first earnings call in November.
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