A memo written to employees of Paramount Pictures revealed that the film studio would be eliminating 110 positions. A copy of the memo from Chief Operating Officer Frederick Huntsberry was obtained by Reuters. The layoff would affect the finance, human resources, information technology, media distribution legal and marketing departments. It would reduce the company's workforce by 5%.
According to the memo, the workforce reduction was due to intense competition in the industry. "As our industry continues to adapt to an increasingly competitive environment, we are always ensuring that Paramount is conducting its business as efficiently and productively as possible. As such we are making important and necessary changes in how we operate across several business functions," the memo said.
According to a New York Times report in May, Paramount Pictures contributed to the decline of the earnings of its parent company Viacom Inc. Paramount posted an 18% decline in earnings to USD 478 million. Because of poor performance in the film division, Viacom's overall revenues fell to USD 3.14 billion in the quarter ending March 31 this year.
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