LA Media Layoffs Mount
Los Angeles' creative sector is facing workforce reductions as Netflix's product division announced significant layoffs. Concurrently, CBS News has reduced staff at its ‘CBS Evening News’ program through buyouts and is reportedly considering further cuts of up to 15% to realign expenses.
- The Netflix product division layoffs impacted several dozen employees, which is less than 1% of the department's 6,000-person staff; no senior executives were let go. - At least 11 of the roughly 40 staff members at ‘CBS Evening News’ have accepted voluntary buyouts, which were offered to non-unionized employees. - The CBS buyouts follow an earlier round of layoffs in October 2025, when parent company Paramount cut approximately 100 jobs at the news division following its merger with Skydance. - These job cuts are part of a broader industry trend that saw more than 17,000 positions eliminated across the media and entertainment sectors in the first 11 months of 2025, an 18% increase year-over-year. - Analysts predict the trend will continue, with one report suggesting up to 20,000 U.S. entertainment jobs could disappear by the middle of 2026. - Corporate consolidation is a major factor; Netflix's pending multi-billion dollar deal to acquire Warner Bros. assets is projected to result in $2 to $3 billion in cost savings, fueling concerns on Capitol Hill about the potential for more job losses. - This workforce reduction coincides with a decrease in local filming, as on-location production in the greater Los Angeles area fell by 13.2% in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the same period the previous year. - Los Angeles County's motion picture production workforce had already shrunk dramatically, falling from 142,000 to 100,000 in the two years leading up to late 2025.
