Netflix is trimming roughly 6 percent of its workforce, amounting to approximately 1,000 employees, in its largest staff reduction since 2022, according to an email sent to staff and reported by The Hollywood Reporter. The organizational changes target the streaming giant’s product, tech, legal, and human resources teams as the company seeks a reset amid efforts to keep its global business growing.
A Strategic Reset Amid Stagnant Viewing Time
Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters announced the cuts in a morning memo to employees, framing the reductions as a necessary measure to be disciplined about where the company prioritizes people and resources. While the company continues to post robust profits and remains the biggest player in subscription streaming, its viewing time has stagnated in recent months. Sarandos lamented at the Bloomberg Screentime summit on Sept. 30 that “overall, we’re not growing as fast as I want us to, and we’re working on making that move faster.”
The company had about 16,000 full-time employees at the end of last year. Reuters reported that Netflix did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the restructuring.
Navigating Consolidation and Market Pressures
The workforce reduction arrives against a backdrop of intense competition for users’ time in a consolidated media market. Earlier this year, Netflix lost out to Paramount Skydance in the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets. Paramount completed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. earlier this month to form Skydance, a media giant with a portfolio of leading news and film studios.
To diversify its revenue sources, Netflix has been investing in advertising, live programming and gaming. Because advertising is one of the company’s growth areas, it needs to keep boosting that viewership engagement. Leadership insists the business is strong and growing, and remains on track to deliver its full-year forecast.
What Lies Ahead for the Restructured Streaming Giant
Affected employees will receive transition support tailored by country, with leaders connecting with impacted employees soon. For the remaining workforce, the focus remains on investing aggressively in high-impact areas to improve the service and further drive growth and innovation.
The company is set to report its Q3 earnings next week, where the company is expected to share more information at that time.
