Paramount Studios has made the decision to layoff 5% of their staff worldwide, which will affect about 110 people. The news was sent via memo on Tuesday, and while employees of the movie giant knew something big was coming, it doesn’t soften the blow.
The layoffs will affect those working in finance, human resources, information technology, international home media distribution, legal and marketing, and the company is hoping that by cutting back on costs they can move forward in an increasingly competitive market. Paramount is the studio that brought us the “Transformers” series and “World War Z”, the Brad Pitt zombie flick that opened this summer.
“Change is always difficult and we never take these steps lightly,” wrote Frederick Huntsberry in the memo. “We are confident that these changes will allow us to manage our business with greater speed and flexibility and fully capitalize on opportunities in the global entertainment market. We know you all join us in wishing our departing colleagues well.
We have an extraordinary team at Paramount, a strong slate of upcoming films and exciting plans for re-entry into television production. Our legacy of success stretches back more than 100 years, with a deep history of adjusting to our industry’s challenges and realizing its new opportunities – all while creating the world’s most iconic films and entertainment experiences.”
The layoff is the first major change the studio has made since the winter of 2008, when about 100 employees were laid off.