Netflix Is Laying Off 1,000 Jobs As Growth Slows, Mainly Product & Tech Teams Affected

Netflix is laying off around 1,000 employees, roughly 6 percent of its workforce, in its largest round of job cuts since 2022. The streaming giant is trying to speed up growth while competing harder for viewers' time.

WSJ reports that most of the cuts are expected to fall on Netflix's product, technology, legal and human resources teams. Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters told employees about the decision in an email. Netflix had about 16,000 full-time employees at the end of last year.

Growth under pressure

The layoffs come as Netflix tries to expand beyond its core subscription business. It has been investing in advertising, live programming and gaming. Sarandos acknowledged the slowdown at a Bloomberg event in late September, saying the company is "not growing as fast as I want us to" and is working to change that.

Netflix shares have fallen more than 30 percent over the past six months and over 40 percent over the past year, according to Business Insider. The company is also contending with fierce competition in an increasingly crowded streaming market.

Investor questions on engagement

Netflix reported 97 billion viewing hours in the first half of the year, up 2 percent on the same period last year. That is likely more than most paid streaming rivals report, but investors have questioned the pace of growth. They were also unsettled by Netflix's decision to publish detailed engagement data once a year instead of twice. Viewing figures can show whether subscribers feel the service is worth paying for.

The company raised US prices in March. The standard ad-free plan went from $17.99 to $19.99 a month, and the ad-supported plan from $7.99 to $8.99.

The 2022 cuts followed Netflix's first subscriber loss in more than a decade. This week's reductions are the biggest since then.