Viacom will fire 850 employees, which is almost 7% of the overall workforce. This step is taken as part of restructuring the plans for the organization and reduce the unnecessary cost in the current economic situation. The company is also going to suspend the salary increase of the top management in 2009 and will write down certain programming and other assets. The company is expected to save around $250 million next year.
In a memo Viacom’s CEO, Philippe Dauman said:
Today, we are announcing a company-wide restructuring plan that includes staffing reductions in all divisions. This will result in a reduction of our worldwide workforce of approximately 7 percent, or about 850 positions. We are also suspending salary increases for the Company’s senior level management in 2009.
