Skydance is offering some employees a one-time voluntary buyout, as the media company looks to cut costs after scooping up bigger rival Warner Bros. Discovery and assuming its massive $80 million in debt.
The buyout scheme comes just weeks after Paramount's $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery closed on October 6.
Co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz also said Skydance is moving to a mandatory five-days-per-week in-office policy across the company.
This follows news that the company's shares have fallen by about a third this year.
The memo dated October 26 said: 'As we bring our teams together, we recognize that not everyone will see their future here, and we respect that. To give eligible employees the option to move on in a way that works for them, we are introducing a Voluntary Buyout (VBO) Program.
'Those who qualify will receive an individual communication with their personalized details and terms, and a window to decide whether to accept this one-time offer.
'Please know we don’t take any of this lightly. We are clear about what we’re building: a company that tells the stories people around the world love, embraces new ways to connect with audiences, and leads the next era of media and entertainment.
'We have the talent, the creative firepower and the ambition to do it, and we will get there together.'
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison. The company, whose shares have fallen by about a third this year, is moving to a five-day-a-week in-office policy, the memo dated October 26 showed
Skydance scooped up bigger rival Warner Bros. Discovery and assuming its massive $80 million in debt
Skydance is expected to have 53,000 employees by the end of the year, but it is unclear how many will be offered the buyouts or will be made redundant in the aftermath.
The pending bloodbath at Skydance comes after Seattle was hit with yet another blow after Microsoft offered buyouts to nearly 60,000 employees.
The $3.95 trillion technology corporation, run by CEO Satya Nadella, told more than a quarter of its global workforce about the voluntary option on Monday as the company looks to control costs and help fund its AI investments.
Staffers working in finance, human resources, Copilot, AI experiences, Xbox and Windows + Devices are eligible for the buyout offer, a source close to the matter told Reuters.
Those in marketing, security and commercial business are excluded from it, according to the source.
'This offer gives eligible employees who may be considering a future outside the company a new choice to make that transition now with support,' Chief People Officer Amy Coleman said in a memo to staff, the outlet reported.
The $3.95 trillion technology corporation announced the voluntary buyouts to employees on Monday
Those who have received the offer have until December to make a final decision. Microsoft is run by CEO Satya Nadella, and has been since 2014
'It also gives participating organizations another way to adapt their workforce to changing needs.'
Employees at the vice president level and below who work in the US, Canada, India and the UK would be granted a 'voluntary exit offer' of the standard severance package, depending on their location, The Seattle Times reported.
Those who have received the offer have until December to make a final decision.
The global company, based just 15 minutes outside of Seattle, is anticipating an acceptance rate of about three percent to five percent, a spokesperson told the outlet, which equates to fewer than 3,000 employees.
Microsoft's stock price briefly rose after news of the buyout came out, ending at about a 1.5 percent surge that same day.
The major announcement also came just two days before the company reports its first-quarter financial results for its 2027 fiscal year, the report stated.
That time period ran from July 1 through September 30.
As of June 30, Microsoft has 223,000 full-time employees globally, according to its annual filing.
Earlier this year, the tech giant offered voluntary buyouts to around seven percent of its US workforce, which is about 9,000 staffers.
And in July, Microsoft said it would cut 4,800 jobs across the world.
Microsoft is one of the largest private-sector employers in the Greater Seattle area, employing tens of thousands across its main campus in Redmond, as well as offices in Seattle, Bellevue and Issaquah.
The news comes as The Emerald City continues to struggle with an economic crisis, business exodus, high job losses, public safety concerns, open-air drug use and affordability.
Microsoft is one of the largest private-sector employers in the Greater Seattle area, employing tens of thousands across its main campus in Redmond, as well as offices in Seattle, Bellevue, and Issaquah
The news comes as The Emerald City continues to struggle with an economic crisis, business exodus, high job losses, public safety concerns, open-air drug use, and affordability that is currently in the hands of Mayor Katie Wilson (pictured)
Mayor Katie Wilson took office in January, and since then, she has been at the forefront of many of the issues.
The Democrat recently faced backlash after the city returned to its typical squalor after she cleaned it up for the World Cup.
The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce captured residents' unhappiness in its most recent index survey, which was released on October 13.
In the survey's October findings, 65 percent of respondents said Seattle was 'losing the positive momentum' on public safety and quality of life observed during this summer's sports event.
Of those, 40 percent said they 'strongly agreed' with that sentiment. The survey interviewed 700 people from September 23 to October 1.
The chamber noted that the World Cup 'showed what Seattle can do,' and insisted that locals were concerned over the direction of the liberal city.
Though the survey did not mention Wilson directly, 66 percent of respondents said that city leaders were not doing enough.
