What the onslaught of layoffs means for Hollywood workers

THE WIDE SHOT

- By Samantha Masunaga

Los Angeles Times photo illustration; Getty Images

The cuts in Hollywood just keep coming, following a sadly familiar script.

Recently it was Paramount, which laid off about 1,000 workers in the first wave of a deep staff reduction planned since tech scion David Ellison’s Skydance Media took over the storied media and entertainment company.

The cuts affected a wide swath of the company, from CBS and CBS News to Comedy Central, MTV and the historic Melrose Avenue film studio, my colleague Meg James and I reported. Another 1,000 layoffs are expected in the coming weeks.

But Paramount isn’t the only one in the media business that’s shedding jobs and payrolls.

Earlier, cable giant Charter Communications said it would lay off 1,200 people nationwide, as the company faces increased competition for its broadband internet packages. NBC News too laid off 150 employees last month amid declining TV ratings and lessening ad revenue.

Other recent media-adjacent layoffs included 100 cuts to Disneyland Resort's Anaheim-based workforce and the massive 14,000-worker reduction at Amazon, including at its gaming and film and TV studios.

And that doesn’t even include widespread job losses that happened this year at companies such as Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal and Six Flags Entertainment Corp.