Paramount Tells Staff To Return To Office 5 Days A Week Or Take Severance: Report

Skydance’s Paramount (PSKY) is reportedly calling employees back to the office for five days a week starting in January.

Paramount’s stock was down more than 3% in afternoon trade on Thursday, with retail sentiment around the shares trending in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day. 

According to a report by Bloomberg, citing a memo by CEO David Ellison, staff have till September 15 to make their decision. It added that employees who were not interested in shifting from the current mandate of two days to five days in the office can participate in an “opt-in severance program.”

The new policy reportedly impacts all employees at the vice president level and below in New York and Los Angeles. The move comes just weeks after Skydance completed its merger with Paramount Global. Executives have pledged more than $2 billion in cost cuts and signaled headcount reductions later this year.

The report added that the memo from Ellison emphasized the importance of staff working from the same space. “Being together in-person isn’t just about showing up—it’s about actively engaging with the business, supporting one another and the team’s efforts, and contributing to our shared momentum,” he wrote. While the new mandate is only for New York and Los Angeles employees for now, the memo said that it will also be rolled out to other offices next year.

Paramount’s new policy is similar to how Starbucks (SBUX) also rolled out its four-day return to office (RTO) mandate earlier this year. Employees that did not want to return were given the option to take a buyout.

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