The newly merged company has had a rocky start to the year 2020, however the sudden surge in television ratings due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be their saving grace.
ViacomCBS has experienced a significant stock increase this week, which is making investors warm up to the idea of the massive layoffs that have been occurring. Approximately, 500 to 700 employees are to be let go across different departments of the whole giant media company. According to Deadline, one of the most affected divisions is Entertainment and Youth. This has all been part of what the company’s CEO describes as “intergrating and streamlining” their operations.
While the consequences of the coronavirus may be beneficial to some parts of the company, they are disastrous to others. Paramount Pictures, for example, cannot produce any type of content or even release films.
Viacom and CBS officially merged in December of last year and will continue to operate under the bigger corporate umbrella National Amusements. It will be interesting to observe if ViacomCBS manages to find its footing in the industry within the year and what divisions of the company will be most negatively affected by this pandemic.
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