Paramount Global, parent company of the CBS network, has laid off 800 employees, just one day after CBS announced a record-high number of Super Bowl viewers, Deadline reported Tuesday.
Yikes. Imagine watching your bosses pop champagne and slap each other on the back only to get fired the very next day.
“To those with whom we are parting ways, we are incredibly grateful for your hard work and dedication,” CEO Bob Bakish wrote in a memo obtained by Deadline. “Your talents have helped us advance our mission of unleashing the power of content around the world.”
The memo comes just one day after CBS announced that a record-breaking 123 million people watched Super Bowl LVIII on their platform, making it the most viewed program in television history.
CBS finally released Super Bowl ratings: It was most-watched telecast in TV history, w/average 123.4 million viewers, up 7% from 2023; more than 200 million watched all or part of it across all networks. 120 million watched on CBS alone, also a record. The Taylor Effect indeed. pic.twitter.com/5NnQvJY88p
— Eric Deggans at NPR (@Deggans) February 13, 2024
Even though these layoffs were planned weeks in advance, it seems like such a plutocratic move to fire hundreds of people the literal day after you announce you just had the most popular piece of programming in television history. (RELATED: China Wins The Super Bowl After CBS Fails To Pull Temu Ads Despite Pleas From Lawmakers, Officials)
Bakish explained the firings as an effort to improve earnings.
“As we shared at Bob Live in January, returning our company to earnings growth is a top priority in 2024,” he wrote in the memo. “This will require us to continue to grow revenue, while reducing costs. And unfortunately, part of streamlining costs means that today, we will begin the difficult process of saying goodbye to some of our very valued colleagues across Paramount. ”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 08: Paramount CEO Bob Bakish and actor Owen Wilson attend the Paramount+ ‘Secret Headquarters’ premiere at Signature Theater on August 08, 2022 in New York City. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Paramount+
CBS sold ads for a reported $7 million a pop. Assuming the 800 employees fired were earning a median salary of $100,000 (and I bet many were making far less) that’s about 11 and a half Super Bowl ads worth of people they just fired.
Now I’m not anti-business or unrealistic about what it takes to run a profitable media conglomerate in America. Paramount is not a charity. When something doesn’t work you cut bait and try again. I’m cool with all of that.
But the callous nature of firing your employees the day after you announce possibly the best news in company history rubs me the wrong way.