Paramount to lay off 1,000 employees following merger with Skydance

WASHINGTON — is preparing to lay off approximately 1,000 employees Wednesday, with an additional 1,000 layoffs expected to happen at a later date, according to and . The cuts come as part of a larger effort to streamline operations and reduce costs following the company’s recent merger with Skydance.

Most of the initial layoffs will impact U.S.-based staff, though international staff are also expected to see reductions in the coming weeks, according to the reports. The move comes after Paramount and Skydance finalized their $8.4 billion merger in August, promising that a $2 billion cost-saving initiative would shortly follow.

Paramount executives had originally planned for the layoffs to take place in November but recently accelerated the timeline, Deadline reported.

Jeff Shell, preside