Paramount Global is eliminating 3.5% of its U.S. workforce in another round of job cuts, the latest signal of deepening distress within the traditional media industry as audiences continue to migrate away from cable television.

This marks the company’s second major workforce reduction in a year, following a far more sweeping 15% cut in 2024, and comes as Paramount attempts to stabilize its balance sheet and sharpen its focus on streaming.

Although the broader corporate world is in the midst of a wave of AI-induced layoffs—with major firms citing automation and artificial intelligence as reasons for shrinking headcounts—Paramount’s decision appears to be more closely tied to structural shifts in its business model rather than AI replacing jobs. According to internal sources, the reductions are aimed at streamlining operations as revenue from its legacy television businesses continues to shrink.

“These changes are necessary to address the environment we are operating in and best position Paramount for success,” wrote Paramount’s co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins in a memo to staff.

Old Media, New Pressures

Paramount, which had 18,600 employees globally as of the end of 2024, is one of several legacy media companies now in a second wave of painful downsizing. In recent days, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have also cut staff to adapt to the collapsing economics of linear TV. Despite continuing to generate cash, the traditional television model—based on bundled cable subscriptions and advertising—is rapidly being eclipsed by streaming.

This media-wide reset has led Warner Bros. Discovery and Comcast to announce plans to spin off their linear TV units into standalone businesses, essentially severing their ties to a once-core revenue stream now seen as a drag on long-term growth.

Paramount, which owns CBS and MTV among other channels, hasn’t announced a spinoff. Instead, it is attempting to reposition through a proposed merger with Skydance Media—a deal that is now being closely watched not just by investors but also by regulators and political stakeholders, given CBS’s entanglement in a legal dispute involving President Donald Trump and the network’s flagship news magazine, 60 Minutes.

Not an AI Story—This Time

The latest round of job cuts comes as companies across industries have begun pointing to AI technologies as a reason for reducing their workforces. From Big Tech firms like Google and Meta to banks and even media outlets, automation and generative AI tools have started to replace certain roles—particularly in support, administrative, and content production teams.

However, Paramount’s cuts appear to be motivated more by macroeconomic pressure and declining linear revenue than by any direct AI rollout, according to executives familiar with the matter. While the company has invested in streaming innovation, there’s no indication that artificial intelligence played a central role in the latest round of layoffs.

Even so, the timing of the announcement—at a moment when AI is making headlines for reshaping job markets—raises broader questions about how the entertainment industry will evolve as automation capabilities mature.

Leadership Shakeup & Strategic Uncertainty

The restructuring follows a major leadership shakeup. CFO Naveen Chopra has exited to join Roblox, a gaming and social platform. Paramount has appointed Andrew Warren—a longtime advisor to the CEO’s office—as interim finance chief. Meanwhile, the company is also reeling from the recent departures of Wendy McMahon and Bill Owens, two top news executives who reportedly quit over frustrations tied to CBS’s handling of the Trump legal saga.

Paramount executives have emphasized that despite the challenges, the company continues to post streaming success. Recent hits such as Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, MobLand, and the NCAA Tournament have delivered strong performances on Paramount+, the company’s flagship streaming platform.

However, streaming has only recently begun to turn a profit, and with mounting regulatory hurdles for its merger, internal leadership gaps, and the ever-present risk of political interference, Paramount is under pressure to show that it can transition away from its decaying legacy model without losing its creative edge—or its talent.

The company says the layoffs may also eventually impact international staff, pending local laws. In the U.S., most affected workers are being notified this week.

Paramount will reduce its U.S. workforce by 3.5%, affecting several hundred employees, according to an internal memo reviewed by several news outlets. The news comes shortly after reported headcount reductions at rivals Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery. Last June, Paramount announced a plan to cut jobs and reduce spending; in August, the company cut 15% of its U.S. workforce. Paramount’s pursuit of regulatory approval for a proposed merger with Skydance Media, meanwhile, has been held up by a legal battle between CBS and the federal government.

Robert F. Smith, CEO of Vista Equity Partners, has issued a warning about the fate of finance jobs in the age of artificial intelligence, predicting that a majority of professionals in the sector may soon be out of work as AI tools take over critical functions.

Speaking Thursday at the SuperReturn International private capital conference in Berlin, Smith told a crowd of more than 5,500 private equity leaders that the job market is on the brink of a sweeping transformation—and the disruption is coming faster than most expect.

“We think that next year, 40% of the people at this conference will have an AI agent, and the remaining 60% will be looking for work,” Smith said, referencing autonomous software programs capable of executing complex, multi-step financial tasks.

The conference, regarded as the world’s largest private equity gathering, included senior executives from global investment giants like Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and KKR. Smith’s remarks hit close to home for many in the audience, particularly as AI deployment across banking and finance accelerates.

A Shared Warning from the Top

Smith is far from alone in sounding the alarm. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in October 2023 that AI could one day lead to a 3.5-day workweek as it replaces jobs and boosts productivity. While he acknowledged its benefits, he emphasized the societal challenges posed by mass displacement. Similarly, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna stated in May 2023 that the company was pausing hiring for roles that AI could replace, estimating that nearly 30% of back-office jobs, such as HR and administrative positions, could be automated within five years.

These high-level concerns are no longer theoretical. Layoffs attributed to AI and automation are already underway in some of the world’s most powerful financial institutions and tech-adjacent firms.

Earlier this year, JPMorgan Chase eliminated hundreds of jobs across its tech and operations divisions, part of a broader effort to streamline functions that AI can now handle. While the bank did not explicitly state AI as the reason, it has significantly ramped up its investment in AI tools—including building its own ChatGPT-like platform, “IndexGPT,” to serve clients.

Goldman Sachs laid off over 3,000 employees in early 2023, citing a shift in business priorities. Analysts say the move also aligned with the firm’s internal automation efforts to reduce redundancy in middle-office operations, especially in areas like compliance and risk modeling.

In the tech world, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, confirmed in January 2024 that it had let go of employees in its advertising sales unit as part of a restructuring effort heavily influenced by automation and AI-driven ad tools. Meta (Facebook’s parent company) also cited automation when it cut tens of thousands of jobs during its “year of efficiency.”

These moves echo Smith’s core argument: AI is not just changing jobs—it is eliminating them.

“All of the jobs that the one billion knowledge workers do today will change,” Smith told the Berlin audience. “I’m not saying they will all go away, but they will all change. You will have hyperproductive people in organizations, and you will have people who will need to find other things to do.”

Finance Faces the Frontline

The financial industry is uniquely exposed to this disruption. A June 2024 report from Citigroup found that 54% of jobs in finance—particularly those in accounting, trading, and portfolio management—have a “high potential for automation.” Another 12% could be significantly “augmented” by AI, with humans working alongside machines.

Citi’s report also projected that global banking profits could jump from $1.7 trillion to nearly $2 trillion by 2028, largely because of productivity gains from AI. However, that boost in profits will likely come at the cost of headcount.

In a survey released in January by Bloomberg Intelligence, Wall Street firms said they expect as many as 200,000 job cuts in the next five years due to AI—targeting roles in research, compliance, risk, and even dealmaking.

Preparing for the Inevitable

Smith, whose firm Vista Equity Partners manages more than $100 billion in assets and specializes in software and tech companies, has a front-row view of this shift. His message to industry professionals is that AI adoption will create a smaller, more efficient workforce and those who fail to adapt may find themselves outpaced and unemployed.

The implications reach far beyond finance. Smith’s call to action, alongside similar warnings from other business titans, suggests a future in which AI not only changes how work gets done but who gets to do it.

The question now is how institutions, regulators, and workers themselves will respond as AI redefines the structure of global employment—and whether those left behind will have a place in the next chapter of the economy.