Paramount has suspended its operations in Russia and made a $1 million donation to humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
In an internal memo to Paramount employees and published by a number of media industry outlets and the Ukrainian regulator National Council, Paramount’s CEO Bob Bakish said: “Like many of you, I am closely following the devastating, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The resulting humanitarian crisis and its ripple effects on the lives of millions of people across Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and in Russia itself, is heartbreaking to witness.
“Since the beginning of this crisis, our teams across the world have been working around the clock to determine the best, and most importantly – safest – ways we as a business can show our support for all those impacted. I want to be clear, the safety and security of employees and all those who work with us is, and will always be, our top priority. We continue to offer specialised support services to hundreds of staff, freelance and fixed term employees in Ukraine, Russia, and Poland whose lives are being impacted by this crisis.
“We are taking a series of steps to suspend our operations in Russia, including pausing the supply of Paramount Global content. We have announced that Paramount Pictures will pause the theatrical release of our upcoming films in Russia, including The Lost City, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Simon & Schuster has suspended sales to accounts in Russia, along with the licensing of translation rights to Russian publishers. Additionally, Paramount Consumer Products will pause all new licensing deals in Russia. Other activity, including the distribution of linear channels and some content licensing, will take more time to pause due to existing contractual, technical and partner complexities”.
Bakish went on to say that in addition to the $1 million donation to support humanitarian aid, Paramount employees are encouraged to directly help those in need as the crisis unfolds.
He concluded by saying that Paramount would continue to financially support its employees in Moscow. He also asked everyone at Paramount to be sensitive to their colleagues in Europe, and particularly those who are Ukrainian, Russian and in CEE.