After financial difficulties and month of war to secure an acquisition before agreeing to a merger with Skydance Media, Paramount has announced it will cut approximately 15% of its total US workforce as part of broader cost-cutting initiatives.

Paramount said that approx 2,000 workers will be let go, with the job cuts starting in the coming weeks and ending by the end of the year.

Related: Paramount Leadership hints at layoffs

Paramount Global Co-CEO Chris McCarthy said that layoffs would be affected two sectors: “redundant functions” for those in marketing and communications and those working in finance, legal, technology and other support areas in an effort to continue the “rationalization” of the corporate structure.

“As you can imagine, these are difficult decisions to make,” McCarthy said in a Q2 2024. call earnings with investors. “We have incredibly talented people at Paramount, and these actions are not a reflection of their contributions. Rather, they are necessary to transform our organization for the future.”

The news comes soon a day after Rival Warner Bros. Discovery posted a net loss of $10 billion and a $9.1 billion reduction in TV assets, pointing to a broader industry trend of a decline in cable audiences amid growth in streaming services. Paramount bumped the value of its cable networks by nearly $6 billion in the second quarter.

At Paramount, whispers of layoffs started in June at the annual shareholder meeting, when executives unveiled a plan to cut costs by roughly $500 million and noted that it would include “eliminating” duplicated teams and functions across the organization, real estate, marketing and categories other corporate expenses”.

Related: Paramount is laying off hundreds of employees just days after the blockbuster hit Super Bowl LVIII

“To be clear, the $500 million in cost savings is just the beginning,” co-CEO Bob Cheeks said on the call. for CNBC.

Paramount fired one laid off 800 employees earlier this year after the company aired Super Bowl LVIII to “return the company to earnings growth” amid debt-related costs.

Earlier last month, Paramount and Skydance Media agreed in a merger valued at about $8 billion after approval by majority shareholder Shari Redstone.

Paramount Global was down about 33% year over year on Friday morning.