Paramount eyes epic ‘bloodbath’ of job cuts in early November after Skydance merger

It will be a turkey of a Thanksgiving for thousands of Paramount employees.

The media giant is targeting early November for what one insider called an epic “bloodbath” — a massive round of layoffs following its merger with Hollywood studio Skydance Media, The Post has learned.

Jeff Shell — the former NBCUniversal boss tapped by Skydance as Paramount’s new president — has told managers at the home to Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV and Showtime to start compiling “kill lists,” a source with knowledge said.

Those lists of employees to be fired will be submitted to company overlords in October and layoffs — which will save the media giant over $2 billion — will roll out in early November, according to sources.

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“It’s going to be a bloodbath,” the source said. “It’s going to be ugly.”

The cuts will coincide with Paramount Skydance’s third-quarter earnings, as well as an investor presentation by new management on its plans for the company, the person added.

A rep for Skydance declined to comment.

Last week, Shell told journalists at a press conference in Los Angeles that the cuts will be “painful” and will take place in one fell swoop — but didn’t elaborate on the timing.

“We do not want to be a company that has layoffs every quarter,” Shell said, citing constant waves of cuts under Paramount’s previous leadership.

The former NBCUniversal executive, who was tapped by David Ellison to be his top lieutenant after Paramount’s long-stalled $8.4 billion merger with Skydance finally closed in early August, added:

“So, it’s going to be painful. It’s always hard, but we don’t want to be a company that every quarter is laying people off. It is important for us to get done what we’re doing in one big thing and then be done with it.”

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Ellison, the CEO of Paramount press conference the prior week in New York without giving many specifics. 

The son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison said restructuring could “exceed” the $2 billion target, but also declined to give a timeline for when the ax would fall.

Ellison also said Paramount’s new executive team doesn’t buy into the idea that a company can be cut into growth – a statement reiterated at the LA press conference attended by Ellison, Shell, Paramount+ leader Cindy Holland, TV Media boss George Cheeks, film heads Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein and chief operating officer Andy Gordon.

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But changes are already afoot at the giant. As previously reported by The Post last week, “CBS Evening News” executive producer Guy Campanile is moving back to “60 Minutes.” The announcement was made internally earlier this week, The Post has learned.

Additionally, Campanile is expected to be replaced by “Evening News” senior producer Kim Harvey, The Post reported. CBS News boss Tom Cibrowski is also poised to eliminate one of the nightly broadcast’s two anchors, either John Dickerson or Maurice DuBois, sources told The Post. Insiders tipped DuBois for sole anchor spot.

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Meanwhile, there’s buzz that former CBS News president David Rhodes, to join the network. 

Ellison, who took the reins from Shari Redstone’s media empire, also turned heads following the deal’s closure with a major deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Paramount announced two weeks ago that it acquired the exclusive rights to show all events from the UFC in the US from TKO Group in what amounts to a $7.7 billion, seven-year deal, beginning in 2026.