Netflix is laying off roughly 1,000 employees, about six percent of its 16,000-person workforce, in the largest round of job cuts in the company’s history. The previous record was 450 positions eliminated in 2022.
In a company-wide memo, co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters told staff the cuts would hit hardest in certain departments. “We wanted to share that we are making a number of organizational changes and, as a result, we’ll be letting go of roughly 6% of our colleagues, with the greatest impact to our product, tech, legal, and HR teams,” they 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,” the memo continued.
The layoffs come as Netflix’s stock has fallen sharply over the past year. The share price is currently down 42 percent, trading at $70.30 compared to $121.00 a year ago.
Much of that decline is tied to a broader belief on Wall Street that streaming subscriber growth has peaked. Unlike entertainment conglomerates with other revenue streams — theme parks, merchandising, home video, cable and broadcast television — Netflix relies almost entirely on subscriptions and advertising-tier revenue.
Netflix remains highly profitable, but it is no longer viewed by investors as a fast-growing business, prompting the company to look at cutting costs rather than only chasing new subscribers.
The move follows a similar announcement from grocery chain Kroger, which said it will lay off 3,000 corporate employees over the next three years as it expands its use of artificial intelligence to streamline operations. In a memo to employees Monday, Kroger CEO Greg Foran wrote, “Technology is reshaping what’s possible. The way work gets done is changing across every industry; we must adapt and take advantage of technology. We need to adopt capabilities, reduce duplicative work and look closely at where work is best fit to be done.”
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