Netflix has announced a reduction of 1,000 positions worldwide, the steepest round of layoffs since 2022. The cuts will largely affect the company’s human resources, legal, product and technology departments, representing about 6% of its total workforce.
Co‑chief executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters told staff in an internal email that the company would "continue to invest aggressively in high‑impact areas to improve our service and further drive growth and innovation," while acknowledging the need for discipline in prioritising people and resources to achieve its mission of entertaining the world.
The decision comes as the streaming industry undergoes consolidation, highlighted by Paramount’s $110 bn merger with Warner Bros., and increased competition from free platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. Netflix’s most popular current series, the underwater mystery show "Below", has been a recent highlight, yet the company remains reliant on a subscription model that analysts say is approaching a plateau.
Senior analyst Ross Benes of eMarketer noted that Netflix has struggled to find a new major revenue stream beyond subscriptions, despite attempts to expand into gaming and advertising. The company’s last major round of redundancies in 2022 cut about 450 jobs after a decline in subscribers for the first time in more than a decade.
Employees will be informed of their status soon, and Netflix is on track to meet its financial forecasts ahead of its next earnings report on 20 October.
