ViacomCBS Lays Off Staffers Across Organization Amid Ongoing Integration Efforts

By Elaine Low

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – As part of the ongoing integration of Viacom and CBS, more staffers were laid off Wednesday at divisions across ViacomCBS, including at MTV News and elsewhere.

As Variety has previously reported, the media conglomerate had been planning to enact several rounds of layoffs as early as late February, just months after the closing of Viacom’s acquisition of CBS.

In an internal memo distributed Wednesday, CEO Bob Bakish called the last few weeks “challenging,” referring to the coronavirus outbreak, but said that it is “critical that we continue these efforts to integrate and evolve ViacomCBS to remain competitive now and for the future.”

Bakish’s full memo can be read below:

Team,

I know these past weeks have been challenging, and have forced us to deal with major disruptions in our personal and professional lives. And I know that even before the coronavirus pandemic, we were already in a period of significant change to integrate our newly combined company – work that is helping us weather this crisis, creatively adapt and strengthen the resiliency of our business.

As I said at our last Bob Live, however, it’s critical that we continue these efforts to integrate and evolve ViacomCBS to remain competitive now and for the future. This means continuing to integrate and streamline our operations, manage our costs as diligently as we can, and follow through on our committed post-merger synergy targets.

Throughout this transformation, we want to be as supportive of our employees as possible, particularly given the circumstances we’re in. Some of us are saying goodbye to incredible team members and friends – people who have made lasting contributions to the success of our company and have enriched our culture. I want to assure you that we are focused on making their transitions easier at this time, while supporting the needs of all our employees and their families.

I realize you may have questions, and I look forward to answering them, and providing another update on our progress at Bob Live shortly after we report earnings next week.

In the meantime, thank you for your continued hard work and focus, and for everything you do to make our company better for our audiences, partners and communities around the world.

Please stay healthy and safe.

Best,

Bob