Netflix laid off 1,000 employees on Wednesday, cutting roughly 6% of its global workforce in the company’s largest round of layoffs since 2022.
The cuts reportedly hit several departments, including technology, legal, product and human resources.
Employees were informed about the layoffs in a memo from co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos.
“Decisions like these are never easy, and we don’t take them lightly,” the executives wrote.
“Our mission — to entertain the world — is ambitious, and delivering on it requires us to be disciplined about where we prioritize our people and resources.”
Peters and Sarandos insisted that Netflix remains financially strong despite the cuts.
“Our business is strong and growing, and we remain on track to deliver our full-year forecast,” they wrote.
The executives said Netflix would continue investing heavily in areas they believe can produce stronger growth and innovation.
“Doing that means making focused choices across the business so we can keep delivering for our members, partners, employees, and investors,” they added.
The layoffs come as Netflix faces increasing pressure to keep viewers engaged with its shows beyond their first seasons.
The company remains the largest major streaming service by global subscriber count, with approximately 325 million subscribers.
However, Netflix shares have fallen about 40 percent over the past year.
The platform has also struggled with steep audience declines for several prominent shows after their debut seasons.
A report earlier this year found that some of Netflix’s biggest hits lost large portions of their audiences when returning for subsequent seasons.
“One Piece,” which ranked among Netflix’s biggest programs in 2023, reportedly lost more than 30 percent of its audience for its second season.
“Beef” suffered an even larger decline, with its second season losing more than 70 percent of viewers.
“The Night Agent” reportedly lost about half its audience during its second season before dropping another 35 percent in its third.
Those numbers highlight a growing challenge for Netflix: turning successful debuts into long-running franchises that keep subscribers watching.
The company is also operating in an increasingly competitive streaming environment.
Disney, Amazon, Skydance and other major entertainment companies continue battling Netflix for viewers, talent and high-profile programming.
Peters and Sarandos described the current environment as “one of the most dynamic times in the history of entertainment.”
Netflix has also faced political and cultural criticism over some of its programming and corporate diversity initiatives.
Critics have attacked the company for prominently featuring LGBT characters and for emphasizing diversity, equity and inclusion within its workforce and productions, per the Western Journal.
Netflix has defended those decisions in the past.
The company previously highlighted increases in leadership positions held by people from underrepresented groups as part of its diversity strategy.
That approach has drawn criticism from prominent figures including Elon Musk.
Musk last year urged people to “Cancel Netflix” while sharing a post criticizing the company’s DEI practices.
However, the information provided does not establish that Netflix’s diversity policies caused the layoffs or its audience-retention problems.
The immediate explanation offered by Netflix executives is that the company is restructuring where it places employees and resources while continuing to compete in a rapidly changing entertainment market.
Despite the layoffs and declining viewership for several returning programs, Netflix executives maintain that the company remains on track to meet its financial targets.
For the 1,000 workers losing their jobs, however, the latest restructuring represents the streaming giant’s most significant workforce reduction in four years.
