Paramount Skydance to mandate five-day office return starting January next year

Paramount Skydance has announced that starting January 2026, all employees will be required to return to office five days a week, according to a company-wide memo obtained by Reuters.

The directive, laid out by CEO David Ellison, will be implemented in two phases. Beginning January 5, employees assigned to Paramount's Los Angeles and New York offices must report to the office full-time.

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Staff who cannot or do not wish to comply have until September 15 to opt into a severance program. A separate buyout plan will also be made available.

Plans for international offices, employees outside LA and New York, and those originally hired in fully remote roles will be revealed in the second phase next year.

Exceptions may apply for production staff who manage telecasts outside traditional office spaces, Variety reported.

Ellison defended the move, emphasizing that in-person collaboration is crucial for the company's future, the report added.

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The return-to-office push comes just weeks after Paramount completed its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance in August, which installed new leadership at the legacy media company.

According to the report, Ellison has previously outlined plans to consolidate operations under a single technology platform, targeting efficiencies in labour, real estate, and procurement, with a goal of achieving $2 billion in cost savings.

Reports in August suggested Paramount was considering job cuts of 2,000 to 3,000 employees following the merger.

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