Paramount Skydance Orders Full Return to Office, Offers Buyouts Ahead of $2 Billion Cuts

Paramount Skydance is requiring employees to return to the office five days a week beginning in January or accept voluntary buyouts, according to a company memo and people familiar with the matter, setting the stage for major workforce reductions after the recent $8.4 billion merger that created the media conglomerate.

The New York Post reported late Thursday that David Ellison, whose Skydance completed the long-stalled merger last month, told staff that a “phased return-to-office” would be implemented and that buyouts would be available to employees who opt not to resume full-time, on-site work. The reported move comes as the company prepares to cut at least $2 billion from its budget, which includes operations such as CBS News, MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon.

Workers at CBS News and other Paramount Skydance units expressed alarm at the directive, telling the New York Post that morale is low and uncertainty is high. “People are freaking out and wondering if they’ll survive at the company until Thanksgiving,” one source close to the situation said. The same people said some employees are hoping that a large number of voluntary departures will reduce the need for involuntary layoffs.

Currently, each business unit within the newly combined company has had its own hybrid and remote work policies. The memo reported by the Post said Ellison expects the phased change to standardize in-person staffing across units, though the company did not publicly provide details on enforcement, timelines for individual departments, or the size and terms of the buyout packages.

Paramount Skydance did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The New York Post cited internal documents and company sources for the account. The reported $2 billion savings target would represent one of the most aggressive cost-reduction efforts across major media companies this year, coming amid broader industry pressure as streaming, advertising and linear television revenues continue to shift.

The directive follows completion of the merger, valued at $8.4 billion, that combined Skydance’s production capabilities with the legacy assets of Paramount. Such consolidations often trigger organizational realignments and operating-model changes as executives aim to capture synergies and reduce overlap. Media companies in recent years have frequently used voluntary buyouts as one tool to reduce headcount while seeking to avoid large-scale layoffs.

Industry analysts have said that the pressure to cut costs is widespread as traditional media businesses adapt to changing consumer habits and rising content expenses. A return-to-office mandate can be part of broader moves to reshape workflows, control costs and signal a shift in corporate culture, though employee reactions to such mandates have varied across the sector.

The New York Post account included unverified details about internal deliberations and staff sentiment. Paramount Skydance’s next public statements, if any, and further reporting will be key to understanding how the company intends to implement the return-to-office plan, the scale of voluntary departures it hopes to achieve, and how the reported cuts will be allocated across its broad portfolio of networks and production units.