Paramount Media Networks, Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios to Lay Off 25% of Staff as MTV News Shuts Down

variety.com:

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Layoffs will be hitting 25% of employees across the Showtime, MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks groups in the U.S.

Tuesday, following months of internal deliberations about integration amid Showtime’s rebranding into Paramount+ With Showtime.

Additionally, MTV News — which was significantly affected by layoffs more than five years ago — will be shutting down. Other units, most of which are operations, will be shuttered as well.

In a memo to staff, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks president Chris McCarthy said that, despite Paramount’s “success in streaming, we continue to feel pressure from broader economic headwinds like many of our peers,” and that “senior leaders in coordination with HR have been working together over the past few months to determine the optimal organization for the current and future needs of our business.” “As a result, we have made the very hard but necessary decision to reduce our domestic team by approximately 25%,” McCarthy said. “This is a tough yet important strategic realignment of our group.