Paramount CEO tells staff to return to the office

Some employees will be offered a severance package if they want to leave the company.

- By MEG JAMES

PARAMOUNT'S edict takes effect in January. Above, the studio lot in Hollywood.

In one of his first companywide directives, Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison announced that employees must work in the office five days a week, beginning in January.

In a Thursday email, Ellison outlined the company’s phased-in approach for office attendance — including offering a severance package to Los Angelesand New York-based vice presidents and lower-ranking employees if they wish to leave the company rather than return to the office.

The move sets the stage for what’s expected to be deep staff cuts later this year. Ellison and his RedBird Capital Partners investors have promised Wall Street more than $2 billion in cost savings as they take over the storied media giant, install their own teams and integrate Skydance Media businesses, including video games and animation, into Paramount's operations. Paramount previously cut several hundred jobs this summer.

Paramount representatives have declined to comment on the pending layoffs beyond saying they hope to achieve the cuts with one large round.