From Variety · Jack Dunn · · 1m 20s
A leaked report puts a price on Paramount leaving
A leaked LAEDC report tallies the jobs and dollars Los Angeles loses if Paramount Skydance moves out of California.
In brief
A leaked LAEDC report tallies the jobs and dollars Los Angeles loses if Paramount Skydance moves out of California. If Paramount Skydance leaves California, the low end of the damage is still thousands of jobs and at least $1 billion in lost output over five years. Originally reported by Variety.
A report nobody meant to publish
The Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation studied what happens if Paramount Skydance leaves California. The findings got out before anyone chose to release them.
Politico got the copy
Politico published the document, which lays out the economic aftershocks in plain numbers rather than warnings.
David Ellison holds the decision
The whole scenario turns on one call by the Paramount Skydance CEO: keep headquarters and operations in California, or pull them out.
Thousands of job-years gone
The report estimates losses of 2,750 to 5,550 job-years across all California industries, not just film and television.
“relocating Paramount's headquarters and other operations out of California would result in losses of 2,750 and 5,550 job-years”
A billion dollars, at minimum
Economic output drops by $1.01 billion to $2.03 billion. The authors call that range a floor, not a worst case.
“At a minimum”
The damage runs five years
The window measured is October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2031, so the hit compounds well past any moving announcement.
“between October 1, 2026, and September 30, 2031”
The key point
If Paramount Skydance leaves California, the low end of the damage is still thousands of jobs and at least $1 billion in lost output over five years.
