Paramount Division Run By Chris McCarthy Lays Off 25% Of Domestic Staff; MTV News Among Units Shut Down

deadline.com:

In the latest wave of industry layoffs, the recently combined Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios as well as Paramount Media Networks, overseen by the division’s President and CEO Chris McCarthy, is reducing its domestic team by 25% today.

McCarthy addressed the cuts, which he called a “very hard but necessary decision”, in a company memo. (You can read it in full below.) According to sources, the basic cable networks were most heavily impacted, with a number of units being shut down as part of consolidation, mostly on the operations side.

Also folding is MTV News, the news production division of MTV, which was launched in the late 1980s. The unit already had undergone significant downsizing over the last six years.

MTV News staffers took to social media to share the layoff news. Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, has been largely spared this time, I hear, after it was hit hard in February when the two studios were combined, with Showtime taking the brunt of the cuts. “This is a tough yet important strategic realignment of our group,” McCarthy said. “Through the elimination of some units and by streamlining others, we will be able to reduce costs and create a more effective approach to our business as we move forward.” Here is his full note: Team, As we finalize the integration of SHOWTIME and continue to transform our business for the future, we have set a great foundation for continued success by consolidating our group into two functions: • Studios – integrating SHOWTIME and MTV Entertainment Studios into one powerful studio team• Networks – combining nine separate teams into one portfolio group This combination has resulted in an incredible track record of hits including Yellowstone, 1883, Tulsa King, South Park,