ViacomCBS is shedding another 100 employees this week across the company as the merger between Viacom and CBS — and the resulting streamlining efforts that have followed — continue to ripple through the combined corporation.
The layoffs impact a range of departments across ViacomCBS, from sales to shared services such as finance and legal, per a source familiar with the situation. Several of the impacted divisions are reducing their teams by one or two employees, while others are being more greatly affected. Personnel at the company’s New York and Los Angeles offices will be impacted, though it is unclear which other bureaus of the global company will also see layoffs this week.
ViacomCBS has been reducing its personnel since February, with cuts over the last nine months impacting a widespread range of divisions, including CBS Entertainment, CBS News, CBS Sports, CBS Studios, CBS Television Studios, Pop TV, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Pop and Smithsonian. More high-level exits over the course of the year have included Smithsonian Network head Tom Hayden, Comedy Central head of content and creative enterprises Sarah Babineau, executive vice president of business affairs Gary Silver, among others.
The moves are part of a previously announced goal of reaching $750 million in annualized run rate synergies over the next three years, including $250 million in 2020.
ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish laid out his vision for streamlining the combined companies months ago, telling CNBC that he has a “clear line of sight” for how to make those synergies happen, targeting distribution, ad sales, product licensing and streaming in particular.
