Paramount Global — as it seeks FCC approval for its deal with Skydance Media and amid a pending lawsuit filed by President Trump against CBS News — told employees that it will change some of its diversity, equity and inclusion programs to comply with the Trump administration’s directives.
In a memo to employees Wednesday, Paramount co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins, cited the Trump administration’s mandates as requiring “changes in the way the company approaches inclusion moving forward. As a result, some of our policies must change to comply with these new mandates.”
Per the Paramount co-CEOs’ memo, obtained by Variety, the company will no “longer set or use aspirational numerical goals related to the race, ethnicity, sex or gender of hires.” In addition, it has ended its policy of collecting race, ethnicity, sex or gender data for U.S. job applicants on its forms and careers page, except in markets where that’s legally required, per the memo.
The media company also has eliminated the “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” qualitative metric in its short-term incentive plan that directly connected 5% of funding for the program to Paramount’s “success in progress on companywide DEI initiatives, including aspirational representation goals,” the execs wrote. Now, Paramount will base 10% of STIP funding on its “Workforce Culture and Development” qualitative metric, “which is focused on building a high-performing and inclusive culture, including through developing leadership and engaging our workforce. ”
“With our business objectives firmly in mind, we will continue to evaluate our programs and approach to ensure that we are widening our aperture to attract talent from all geographies, backgrounds and perspectives,” the Paramount execs wrote. “That may mean expanding existing programs while ending others. As our policies continue to evolve in the future, we will be sure to share those updates with you.”
Trump has made the shutdown of DEI initiatives across the federal government a priority, and his administration is applying pressure to thwart such programs in the private sector as well. In a Jan. 21 executive order terminating DEI policies in federal agencies, Trump instructed the heads of agencies, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney General, to “encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI” and to formulate a plan “of specific steps or measures to deter DEI programs or principles” at publicly traded corporations and other large non-profit corporations and associations.
Earlier Wednesday, after Apple shareholders overwhelming rejected a proposal to cease DEI initiatives, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM. DEI WAS A HOAX THAT HAS BEEN VERY BAD FOR OUR COUNTRY. DEI IS GONE!!!”
Other media companies that have changed DEI policies and eliminated certain inclusion programs include Amazon Studios and Disney.
The Paramount chiefs sent the memo Wednesday, when the company also reported fourth quarter 2024 earnings results. Paramount said it continues to expect the $8 billion merger with Skydance to close in the first half of 2025 — a deal that is contingent on approval from the FCC.
Prior to the 2024 U.S. election, Trump sued CBS News over a “60 Minutes” interview with former VP Kamala Harris that aired Oct. 7, alleging the news program deceptively edited the video. Earlier this month he amended the lawsuit to demand damages of $20 billion.
Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed FCC chairman, has said Trump’s lawsuit against CBS News will likely will be a factor during the FCC’s review of the Skydance-Paramount merger. Carr, as part of an FCC probe into potential “news distortion,” demanded that CBS News turn over all materials tied to the “60 Minutes” Harris segment including transcripts and unedited video. The news outlet did so, maintaining that the “60 Minutes” broadcast “was not doctored or deceitful.”
Meanwhile, Carr this month instructed the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into the DEI practices of Comcast and NBCUniversal. Carr said he was “concerned” that Comcast and NBCU are “promoting invidious forms of DEI that do not comply with FCC regulations & civil rights laws.” In response, Comcast said it would cooperate with the FCC probe and said, “For decades, our company has been built on a foundation of integrity and respect for all of our employees and customers.”
Last year, CBS was sued by Brian Beneker, the longtime script coordinator on “SEAL Team,” alleging he had been repeatedly passed over for writing jobs because he is a straight, white man. CBS filed a motion to throw out a lawsuit challenging its diversity hiring practices, arguing that it has a First Amendment right to hire who it wants. The case is still pending.
