Paramount Sued By Hundreds Of Workers After Termination
Paramount is facing a time of major transition right now, and that’s putting it politely. The upcoming merger with Skydance has put the future of several franchise properties up in the air, and there has been major speculation about how this could affect hit IPs like Star Trek.
Now, Paramount is facing a class-action lawsuit from its own former employees, with workers alleging that they were not given the minimum notice of 90 days before they were laid off.
Not Given Proper Notice
Right now, Paramount’s former workers are alleging that the company violated New York’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act which requires that everyone receives at least a 90-day warning before mass layoffs.
In an official statement, however, the company firmly denies these allegations, saying, “Paramount employees entitled to Federal or State WARN notice receive it.”
If successful, this class action lawsuit could throw a wrench into the studio’s plans amid some major restructuring efforts.
Saving $500 Million
Right now, Paramount has a very lofty goal: they want to save $500 million by reducing their number of workers.
They are currently in the second phase of a plan in which they try to reduce 15 percent of their American workforce in pursuit of the aforementioned savings.
Back in September, co-CEOs George Cheeks, Brian Robbins, and Chris McCarthy claimed that 90 percent of the company’s layoffs had been completed.
Star Trek In Danger
Meanwhile, Paramount enacted the first part of this plan back in August, laying off workers so vigorously that it raised many eyebrows from audiences and insiders alike.
Part of those cuts involved letting many high-profile executives go, a decision that most audiences could easily live with.
But this phase also involved eliminating Paramount TV studios, making many wonder whether this could jeopardize the future of Star Trek, the company’s longest-running and most recognizable franchise.
Seeking Wages, Salary, And More
Obviously, all of this is part of Paramount’s plans, so what has caused the former workers to file a class-action lawsuit?
The suit alleges that around 295 workers at the company’s New York headquarters and at least 50 employees from surrounding Paramount sites were terminated on September 30.
They are seeking the “wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, accrued holiday pay and benefits over a 60-day period that would’ve been paid out if Paramount complied with the law.”
There are different versions of the law in question, but the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of New York requires that companies give employees a 90-day notice if they are laying off at least 250 employees.
Time Will Tell
Certainly, Paramount’s former workers believe that the company violated this law, but the studio maintains that they did not. If the suit is successful, then Paramount may have to pay back wages and benefits to the former workers in addition to paying a civic penalty.
Obviously, only time will tell whether Paramount or its former workers will prevail in this lawsuit, just as time will tell whether Paramount is successful in its efforts to save $500 million by reducing its workforce.
If done well, this could result in a leaner, meaner studio that is better ready for the challenges of the 21st century. If done poorly, though, we could be seeing the beginning of the end of one of Hollywood’s biggest names.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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