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Paramount Australia downsizes

Paramount Pictures Australia has closed its Perth office and eliminated the sales function in its Brisbane office, while marketing for South Australia is now being handled out of Victoria.

As a result, seven permanent employees have departed.

Paramount Pictures Australia MD Mike Selwyn described the moves as a realignment, with additional roles being created in the Sydney head office.

Sales for Queensland and WA are now being handled out of Sydney but the Brisbane office will continue to run marketing in that State. Paramount was the last of the major distributors to maintain an office in Perth.

In October the studio laid off 110 employees globally in areas such as international theatrical and home media distribution, marketing, legal and finance.

Paramount has the smallest release slate of the Hollywood studios, although it has scored at the global box-office this year with G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Star Trek Into Darkness, World War Z and Bad Grandpa, and it has Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues opening on December 19.

Its 2014 line-up includes Kenneth Branagh’s Jack Ryan, Jason Reitman’s Labor Day, Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, Jonathan Liebesman’s Ninja Turtles, Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age of Extinction and Brett Ratner’s Hercules.