Uber, Lyft drivers plan to halt airport rides today

Paramount cuts 800 jobs days after Super Bowl

Paramount Global is letting go of hundreds of employees days after the company's coverage of the Super Bowl set a record for the most-watched program in U.S. television history.

The company is eliminating roughly 800 jobs, according to a person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because the information isn't public.

The owner of CBS, Nickelodeon and other channels is trying to boost profits at a time when viewers are canceling cable and satellite TV packages in favor of streaming services like Netflix.

Paramount+, the company's own online TV service, is not profitable. Attendance at movie theaters has not recovered to prepandemic levels, putting pressure on the company's namesake film studio as well.

In an internal memo to employees on Tuesday, Chief Executive Officer Bob Bakish said the company will inform impacted employees in the US by the end of the day while notifications to staff members outside the US will “occur over time.”

The cuts at Paramount were widely expected and were flagged by Bakish in a note to staff last month. Bakish has been restructuring the company, merging its Showtime cable network with its streaming operation and cutting back on efforts to launch independent streaming services overseas. The company has also been selling assets such as its Simon & Schuster book publishing arm to reduce debt. JetBlue shares soar as Icahn takes stake in airline

Shares of JetBlue are up more than 18% in Tuesday afternoon trading as activist investor Carl Icahn took an almost 10% stake in the airline.

Icahn, who purchased the shares in January and February, said in a regulatory filing that he believe JetBlue's stock is undervalued and represents an attractive investment opportunity. The stock is down abut 29% in the past year.

He has had talks, and plans to continue talking with JetBlue in regards to possible representation on its board of directors.

“We are always open to constructive dialogue with our investors as we continue to execute our plan to enhance value for all of our shareholders and stakeholders,” JetBlue said in a statement.

Icahn became widely known as a corporate raider in the 1980s when he engineered a takeover of TWA, or Trans World Airlines. Icahn bought the airline in 1985 but by 1992 it filed for bankruptcy.

TWA emerged from bankruptcy a year later but continued to operate at a loss and its assets were sold to American Airlines in 2001.

JetBlue was dealt a major blow last month when a federal judge sided with the Biden administration and blocked JetBlue Airways from buying Spirit Airlines, saying the $3.8 billion deal would reduce competition.

Both airlines have filed their intention to appeal with a higher court, and a June hearing date has been set.

Drivers for Uber and Lyft, as well as riders for DoorDash will stop giving rides to and from airports in 10 major cities for two hours on Valentine's Day.

Rideshare Drivers United said its members will join a nationwide protest from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, as they demand changes from all the app companies profiting off of our hard work.”

Drivers for the app companies say this winter has been especially tough with contractors experiencing “the worst earnings they have ever experienced. “

Compiled from Associated Press, Bloomberg and staff reports.