By Netflix has laid off over 1,000 staff — around 6% of its workforce — in the company’s biggest round of cutbacks to date. The cuts will predominantly hit the product, technology, legal and HR teams.
(Credits: IGN)
Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters addressed employees in an email reported by the Wall Street Journal: “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 pair insisted the business remains strong: “Our business is strong and growing, and we remain on track to deliver our full-year forecast.”
Quantity Over Quality?
Despite a deep bench of beloved exclusives, Netflix has struggled to keep pace with audience demand, with critics accusing the streamer of a quantity-over-quality approach. In response, Netflix struck a surprising deal with Disney to license select Disney+ content for its 325 million subscribers — a mix of legacy titles and currently streaming TV shows.
The October lineup includes the miniseries East of Eden, Ben Affleck’s Animals, and Josh Hartnett facing off against a sea beast in Below. On October 20, Netflix releases the second season of Studio Trigger’s anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 2.
The Gaming Bet
Netflix has also been pushing into gaming to increase time spent on the service — most famously when the GTA 6 Extended Look debuted as a Netflix exclusive for its first few hours, pulling 31.1 million views in its first week.
The layoffs suggest Netflix is choosing focus over sprawl: investing aggressively in high-impact areas while trimming everywhere else. For the 1,000-plus employees affected, though, the message about discipline will ring hollow.
Also Read: New Epic Games Launcher Arrives With 30x Faster Library and 46% Faster Boot Than Steam, First Look at CM Punk in Netflix’s Guarding Stars — Arriving November 18
Source: IGN — read the full story there.
