Paramount Skydance, owner of Australia’s Network Ten, will cut around 1,000 jobs this week in the first phase of a sweeping global restructure, with another round of layoffs expected later as the newly merged entertainment giant moves to slash costs and consolidate operations.

The job losses, confirmed by multiple US outlets, mark the first major move since David Ellison’s Skydance Media completed its US$8.4 billion (A$13 billion) merger with Paramount Global in August.

Sources say total cuts could reach 2,000 worldwide, which is roughly 5% of the workforce.

Paramount Skydance president Jeff Shell, who has described the plan as a “one-and-done” restructuring, said recently the company aims to eliminate up to A$3 billion in costs to streamline the business.

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison (left) and president Jeff Shell (right)

“We don’t want to be a company that has layoffs every quarter,” Shell said at the time. “It’s going to be painful, but necessary.”

The first 1,000 redundancies are expected to hit US divisions hardest, though international operations, including Australia’s Network Ten, remain under review.

Sources have told ChannelNews the Ten network could face further scrutiny as Ellison reshapes the company’s global broadcast footprint.

Ten’s ongoing struggles, particularly the failed “10 News+” relaunch and falling prime-time audiences, have already raised speculation that Ellison may look to offload or restructure the network. The move would align with broader cost-cutting across Paramount’s global portfolio.

Ellison, the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has been repositioning the merged group with major content deals, including a US$7 billion exclusive rights pact with UFC, and a controversial management overhaul at CBS News, where he installed former Free Press founder Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief.

The layoffs also come amid reports that Ellison remains interested in acquiring Warner Bros Discovery after an initial US$60 billion offer was rejected earlier this month.

Analysts say a successful bid would reshape Hollywood’s power map and could have knock-on effects in Australia, consolidating more major entertainment brands under Ellison’s control.