Netflix Film VP Doug Belgrad Is Out Amid Layoffs
Netflix has dismissed film vice-president Doug Belgrad as part of a restructuring that will cut about 1,000 jobs, its largest round of layoffs to date. The move matters because it affects a senior leader overseeing the streamer’s original film slate, while most cuts are expected in product, technology, legal and human resources.
Belgrad joined Netflix in May 2024, the first major executive appointment by film chairman Dan Lin after he replaced Scott Stuber. He had managed the original film slate and recently launched Ben Affleck’s crime thriller “Animals”; before Netflix, he spent more than 25 years at Sony, most recently as president of its motion picture group. The planned reductions amount to about 6% of Netflix’s workforce; its previous major layoffs came in 2022, when around 450 staff were let go.
- Netflix has let film vice-president Doug Belgrad go.
- About 1,000 employees, or 6% of staff, face cuts.
- Most reductions are expected in product and technology teams.
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Netflix makes films and series for subscribers worldwide, alongside licensed programmes from other companies. Its original films are overseen by a film division, led by chairman Dan Lin, which decides what projects to develop and release.
Doug Belgrad joined that division in 2024 as a vice-president, after a long career at Sony Pictures. He worked on Netflix’s original film slate, including the crime thriller Animals, starring and directed by Ben Affleck.
The reported job cuts are part of a wider restructuring at Netflix and would affect about 6% of its workforce. The company also made substantial staff cuts in 2022; changes to its film leadership may shape how its original film work is managed.