Please wait...
Please wait...

Paramount cuts jobs amid TV shift

Paramount Pictures is cutting 110 jobs across its movie-making departments as it plans to place more emphasis on re-entering TV.

The cuts will come in finance, human resources, information technology, internal home media distribution, legal and marketing, the US film studio said in a staff memo.

The move means 5% of the company’s 2,200-strong workforce will lose their jobs.

“We are confident that these changes will allow us to manage our business with greater speed and flexibility and fully capitalise on opportunities in the global entertainment market,” chief operating officer Frederick Huntsberry said in the statement.

“We have an extraordinary team at Paramount, a strong slate of upcoming films and exciting plans for re-entry into television production.”

The layoffs follow Paramount’s decision in May to return to TV production by coproducing a CBS remake of Beverly Hills Cop alongside Sony Television.

The company appointed Amy Power, its head of digital entertainment, as president of the fledgling TV arm in July.

The cuts also come in light of recent statements from Philippe Dauman, CEO of parent company Viacom, stressing the need to keep expenses down.

Dauman previously said the move to remake Beverly Hills Cop represented Paramount “dipping its toe in the water” with regards to TV production.

Prior to this announcement, Paramount had not been active in TV production since Viacom and CBS demerged in 2006.

The studio employed more than 3,000 workers in late 2008 but now has around 2,200, fewer than any of the major Hollywood studios.

The company laid off 120 workers in October 2011.

Please wait...