ViacomCBS Has Laid Off 450 Employees in New York Since January
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ViacomCBS Inc. has laid off 450 staffers in New York since January, according to a filing with New York state.
The newly formed media company let go of 88 employees at Showtime, 27 at CBS Television Stations, 41 at CBS Corporations, 16 at CBS Network, 271 at Viacom International, three at Simon & Schuster, and four at CBS Interactive.
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While many companies that have made similar filings during the pandemic stated that the layoffs were temporary and due to COVID-19, ViacomCBS did not do so, indicating the cuts are permanent.
The Wrap reported at the end of last month that ViacomCBS president Bob Backish sent a memo to staff, informing them of the latest round of layoffs, thought to have impacted around 100 workers. They included Smithsonian Network president Tom Hayden and Comedy Central head of content and creative enterprises Sarah Babineau.
A separate New York state filing showed that Cast & Crew, a payroll company that CBS contracts with, laid of 65 staffers last month, although the filing categorized the move as temporary, citing the reason as “unforeseeable business circumstances prompted by COVID-19.”
Viacom and CBS merged in December. Viacom’s brands include MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and BET, while the acquisition of CBS added Pop, Smithsonian Channel and Showtime as well as CBS itself.
The company did not immediately respond to request for comment.
