According to Deadline, Netflix fired 150 mostly US-based employees today in an ongoing effort to cut costs following a historic drop in subscribers. A number of senior-level employees are said to be among those affected.
It is the company’s second round of layoffs in recent weeks, with approximately 11,000 employees. Last month, an unspecified number of writers and editors at Netflix’s in-house fan website, Tudum, were laid off.
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A company spokesperson said the layoffs were directly tied to a slowdown in Netflix’s revenue growth. “As we explained on earnings, our slowing revenue growth means we are also having to slow our cost growth as a company. So sadly, we are letting around 150 employees go today, mostly US-based,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement.
“These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough as none of us want to say goodbye to such great colleagues. We’re working hard to support them through this very difficult transition,” the spokesperson added.
Variety reported today that the streaming service has also canceled a number of animated projects in development, including Wings of Fire from executive producer Ava DuVernay, Antiracist Baby, and With Kind Regards From Kindergarten. However, according to Variety’s sources, these projects were axed for creative reasons rather than cost-cutting.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, a companion piece to Stamped From the Beginning, was also released by the streaming service.
Employee morale has been low at the Los Gatos, California-based company since it announced plans to tighten its belt during its most recent earnings call, according to the Los Angeles Times.
This month, the company also updated its cultural memo to warn prospective employees that the streaming services “may not be the best place” for those who are unable to work on content with which they disagree.
“As employees, we support the principle that Netflix offers a diversity of stories, even if we find some titles counter to our own personal values. Depending on your role, you may need to work on titles you perceive to be harmful. If you’d find it hard to support our content breadth, Netflix may not be the best place for you,” reads the culture guidelines.
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Netflix lost subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, blaming it on increased password sharing, increased competition from other streaming platforms, and the loss of its entire subscriber base in Russia.
The streaming service is considering adding a lower-cost, ad-supported tier and canceling a number of projects that were in the works. In the second quarter of 2022, the company expects to lose another 2 million subscribers.
