Netflix to lay off around 1,000 employees in biggest cuts since 2022

Netflix is laying off around 1,000 employees, or roughly 6% of its workforce.

The cuts will affect several teams, including product, technology, legal, and human resources, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters informed employees of the decision in an email on Wednesday.

The move comes as Netflix seeks to expand beyond its traditional subscription business. Speaking at a Bloomberg event in late September, Sarandos acknowledged that the company was falling short of his growth expectations.

"We're not growing as fast as I want us to, and we're working on making that move faster," he said.

Netflix has been investing in advertising, live programming and gaming to diversify its revenue streams. However, its shares have fallen more than 30% over the past six months and over 40% in the past year, according to Business Insider.

The company reported 97 billion viewing hours in the first half of the year, a 2% increase from the same period last year. Netflix recently announced that it would publish detailed engagement data annually instead of twice a year, raising concerns among investors about transparency around audience trends.

Viewing figures can offer insights into subscriber engagement and whether customers consider the service worth paying for.

Netflix has also raised subscription prices in the US. In March, its standard ad-free plan increased from $17.99 to $19.99 per month, while its ad-supported plan rose from $7.99 to $8.99.

The latest layoffs are Netflix's biggest since 2022, when it cut jobs after losing subscribers for the first time in more than a decade. The company had around 16,000 full-time employees at the end of last year.