Netflix Lays Off Around 1,000 Employees In Largest Cuts Since 2022
Developing story first seen 3 hours ago
Netflix’s co-CEOs have told staff the company will cut roughly 1,000 jobs, about 6 per cent of its workforce, in its largest round of layoffs since 2022. The cuts are part of an organisational reset as Netflix seeks to speed up growth and decide where to focus its staff and resources.
Product, technology, legal and human resources teams will be particularly affected, and the company says it will support departing employees through the process. Netflix says its business remains strong and it is on track to meet its full-year forecast, but viewing time has stagnated; it is looking to build engagement as it grows its advertising business. The company is due to report third-quarter earnings next week.
- Netflix plans to cut about 1,000 jobs.
- The reductions affect roughly 6 per cent of staff.
- The company is seeking faster growth as viewing time stagnates.
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Netflix is a US-based entertainment company best known for its subscription streaming service, which offers films and television programmes. It has expanded into advertising and other forms of entertainment as competition for viewers has grown.
Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters are Netflix’s co-chief executives, responsible for leading the company. Decisions about staffing and spending can affect teams across the business, including those developing the service and supporting its operations.
Netflix earns money from subscriptions and advertising, so attracting and keeping viewers matters to both. Its plans for staff and resources are part of a wider effort to grow the business, while its financial forecasts and viewing figures are closely watched by investors.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Netflix can argue that reallocating staff is a necessary response to stagnating viewing and the need to build engagement, including for its advertising business. If the company can streamline teams while meeting its forecast and investing in growth, the cuts may help it remain competitive and sustain its business over time.
The case against
Employees and critics can argue that cutting about 6 per cent of the workforce, including in product and technology, risks weakening the people and capabilities needed to improve the service and grow engagement. With the business described as strong and on track to meet its forecast, they may also question whether such large cuts are necessary and stress the substantial cost to those losing their jobs.
Full account
Netflix is cutting about 6% of its workforce, or roughly 1,000 employees, in its largest round of redundancies since 2022. Co-chief executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters told staff about the changes in an email on Wednesday. The memo said the reductions would fall most heavily on product, technology, legal and human-resources teams.
The executives described the changes as organisational decisions intended to focus staff and investment on areas they believe can improve the service and support growth. They said Netflix’s business remained strong and that the company was on course to meet its full-year forecast. The memo also said the company’s priority was to help employees leaving, with the arrangements varying by country.
The move follows a period in which Netflix has continued to make substantial profits but faces questions about how quickly it can grow. Reuters highlighted competition for viewers from established media companies, YouTube and TikTok, and said investor attention has increasingly turned to engagement: the time people spend watching. It also cited the company’s unsuccessful pursuit of Warner Bros Discovery’s streaming and studio assets as a source of doubt about its strategy. Netflix has been developing advertising, live programming and gaming alongside subscriptions.
The outlets place the cuts in different contexts. The Hollywood Reporter connects them to Sarandos’s recent comments that growth was slower than he wanted and points to stagnant viewing time and the importance of engagement to advertising. Variety focuses on the change from a reported plan to cut 5% to the announced 6%, and sets out recent revenue and advertising growth. Reuters gives more attention to competitive pressures, investor concerns and Netflix’s roughly 16,000 employees at the end of last year. Reports also differ in how they characterise the 2022 reductions: Variety describes 150 jobs cut in May and 300 in June, while Reuters refers to about 450 across two rounds.
Where outlets differ
The Hollywood Reporter says the cuts were expected to affect about 6% of staff; Variety says a 5% reduction had been reported the previous week before the company announced 6%.
Variety reports 150 job cuts in May 2022 and another 300 in June. Reuters summarises the two rounds as about 450 jobs. The Hollywood Reporter describes 2022 as the last major round without giving a total.
The reports emphasise different explanations and context: The Hollywood Reporter stresses growth and viewing engagement, Variety highlights financial and advertising figures, and Reuters focuses on competition and investor doubts.