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In a way, “Charlie bit my finger” led to this. Amid slowing growth and heightened competition from platforms like YouTube, Netflix is cutting 6% of its workforce—its largest layoff since 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
Roughly 1,000 people globally will lose their jobs, mostly in product, tech, legal, and HR, according to the WSJ (though several executives are reportedly also out). “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,” co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos told employees in an email.
Though Netflix boasts the most subscribers of any streamer, engagement and revenue growth are both slowing, as TikTok, Instagram, and other apps steal users’ attention. YouTube surpassed Netflix in average daily viewing across 20 international markets last year, per an analysis by the Digital i agency.
What to do?Netflix has tried investing in live events, sports, games, kids’ programming, short-form creator content, and video podcasts.
It’s also pulled users’ favorite moves: raising subscription prices and expanding ad tiers to more countries.
There’s a new threat: Acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio business could’ve been a major lifeline for Netflix, but it lost that bidding war to Paramount Skydance. Now, the newly formed Skydance conglomerate’s massive budget and IP treasure chest “threatens Netflix the most,” a Needham analyst wrote in a note cited by Yahoo Finance.—ML