Netflix plans 1,000 job cuts as streaming giant reassesses spending

MUMBAI: Netflix is cutting the cast behind the scenes, with the streaming giant reportedly planning to eliminate around 1,000 jobs globally, or roughly 6 per cent of its workforce, as it reassesses spending priorities amid pressure on growth and viewer engagement.

The proposed cuts would mark Netflix’s largest workforce reduction since 2022, when it eliminated around 150 jobs in May and another 300 in June. At the time, the company said it was aligning cost growth with slower revenue growth while continuing to invest in its business, following its first quarterly subscriber decline in more than a decade.

According to reports, co-chief executives Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos informed employees of the latest reductions in an email on Wednesday morning. Most of the cuts are expected to affect product, technology, legal and human resources teams.

“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 executives wrote, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Peters and Sarandos said Netflix would continue investing in areas with the potential to deliver a significant impact, while making choices about how resources are distributed across the business. They also told employees that the company remained on track to meet its full-year earnings forecast.

The reported layoffs come as Netflix expands beyond its traditional streaming offering, exploring new formats and ways to keep audiences watching amid concerns about slower growth and engagement.

The company has moved into video podcasts, programming featuring YouTube creators, live sports and other events. It has also explored live television channels and bundles with other streaming services, broadening its options beyond films and series.

The expansion comes as technology and entertainment companies face wider pressure to control costs while pursuing new growth opportunities. For Netflix, the challenge is to balance investments in fresh programming and formats with the need to allocate resources more selectively.

Netflix reported that members watched more than 97 billion hours of content in the first half of 2026, an increase of 2 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier.

The company described engagement as healthy, saying its assessment considered the quality and variety of its programming alongside viewing time.

The latest reported job cuts therefore come against a mixed backdrop: viewing hours are growing, but Netflix is still reassessing where its people and resources can have the greatest impact.

If implemented as reported, the reductions would be its biggest since 2022, signalling another significant workforce reset as the company continues to broaden its entertainment offering while keeping a closer eye on costs.