Netflix lays off 300 more employees
The company previously cut 150 jobs in May amid business woes.
Netflix has laid off around 300 people in its latest round of job cuts. Most of the layoffs were in the US, according to Variety, and a number of departments were affected.
“Today we sadly let go of around 300 employees,” a Netflix spokesperson told the publication. “While we continue to invest significantly in the business, we made these adjustments so that our costs are growing in line with our slower revenue growth. We are so grateful for everything they have done for Netflix and are working hard to support them through this difficult transition.”
This is Netflix’s second round of layoffs due to slowing revenue growth. It laid off 150 employees, along with many part-time workers and contractors, back in May. The company has around 11,000 employees around the globe.
Netflix also let go 10 or so staffers from its marketing department and in-house news site, Tudum, in April. Those particular layoffs were due to a reorganization of Netflix’s marketing team. Those were said to be normal business decisions and were not directly connected to cost reductions.
The latest layoffs follow a steep drop in Netflix’s share price, which has fallen by around 70 percent since the beginning of the year. In the first quarter of 2022, the company’s subscriber count dropped for the first time. It fell by 200,000, in large part because Netflix pulled out of Russia and lost 700,000 subscribers there. In its latest earnings report, Netflix said it expects to lose as many as 2 million subscribers in the current quarter too.
Along with cost cutting, Netflix is looking at more ways of generating revenue. These include ad-supported plans and extra fees for those who share their accounts with people living in other households.
The company is hiring on other fronts and still plans to invest heavily in content, though. It has earmarked around $17 billion for that purpose this year. News of the layoffs comes the week after Netflix announced a reality competition series based on its all-conquering drama, Squid Game. The winner will take away $4.56 million.
Update 6/23 4:30PM ET: Clarifying some details about the layoffs in April.
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