iWorld
Disney+ Hotstar announces over 250 job openings
KOLKATA: Disney+ Hotstar has announced over 250 job openings across different levels and verticals to drive its next phase of rapid growth and transformation. The streaming platform plans to recruit multifaceted talent right from engineers to marketers and consumer growth personnel across client platforms, personalisation of video content, payments, and subscriptions, it said on Thursday.
The platform provides diversified entertainment offerings to its fast-expanding subscriber base including thousands of hours of movies and television, across international and local titles.
“Our commitment to expanding our workforce reflects our confidence in India’s immense growth potential as we seek to create engaging content for the next billion digital viewers,” said Disney+ Hotstar president & head Sunil Rayan. “In these disruptive times, we are keen to create opportunities for talent to thrive in an environment built on the core values of diversity and inclusion.”
Disney+ Hotstar was among the strongest contributors to net subscriber additions, making up approximately one-third of the total Disney+ subscriber base. The company continues to rapidly expand its streaming service in the APAC region. Post the India launch, Disney+ Hotstar was made available in Indonesia, followed by Malaysia to have access to its massive content offering on the platform.
“Disney+ Hotstar provides an opportunity to work with the best minds in the business, offering multiple specializations under one team. It not only enables engineers to deliver top-quality entertainment to millions of customers but also hone their skills in video, machine learning, personalization, payments, subscription, identity, security and fraud and an array of client platforms,” it said in a release.
The app has notched over 400 million downloads, and also secured top spots on the Google Play Store as well as the Apple App Store.
iWorld
Netflix cuts jobs in product division amid restructuring
Layoffs hit creative studio unit as leadership and strategy shifts unfold.
MUMBAI: The streaming wars may be fought on screen, but the latest plot twist is unfolding behind the scenes. Netflix has reportedly begun laying off several dozen employees from its product division as part of an internal reorganisation, according to a report by Variety. The cuts are believed to have primarily affected the company’s creative studio unit, which works on marketing assets such as in app trailers, promotional visuals and live experience content for the streaming platform.
The company has not disclosed the exact number of employees impacted.
According to the report, the layoffs were not tied to employee performance. Instead, the restructuring eliminated certain roles while other employees were reassigned to different teams within the organisation.
The roles affected are understood to include designers, producers and creative specialists responsible for marketing and brand experience initiatives.
The job cuts come as Netflix adjusts its leadership structure and reshapes its product and creative teams. Last month, Elizabeth Stone was promoted from chief technology officer to chief product and technology officer, giving her oversight of product, engineering and data operations across the company.
Earlier, in December 2025, Netflix also appointed Martin Rose as head of creative for global brand and partnerships, a move seen as part of a broader restructuring of the company’s brand and product functions.
Despite the layoffs, Netflix remains one of the largest employers in the streaming sector. The company is estimated to employ around 16,000 people globally, with roughly 70 percent of its workforce based in the United States and Canada. In 2023, the company reported approximately 13,000 employees, indicating that its headcount had grown significantly before the latest restructuring.
The workforce changes arrive at a time when Netflix is navigating a shifting financial and strategic landscape in the global entertainment industry.
The streaming giant recently secured $2.8 billion in additional cash after receiving a breakup fee from Paramount Skydance following its withdrawal from a deal involving Warner Bros. Discovery.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Netflix co chief executive Ted Sarandos explained that the company had evaluated multiple scenarios during the negotiations but chose not to match the competing offer once it learned that a higher bid had been submitted.
Netflix had capped its offer at $27.75 per share and ultimately stepped back rather than pursue Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition deal, which included a personal guarantee.
Sarandos also cautioned that the financing structure behind the Paramount Skydance transaction could have ripple effects across the entertainment industry.
According to him, the debt heavy deal could trigger significant cost cutting, with David Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance, expected to eliminate about $16 billion in costs and potentially cut thousands of jobs as part of the integration process.
For Netflix, the current restructuring appears to be part of a broader attempt to streamline operations while continuing to invest in product, technology and global content even as the streaming industry enters a new phase of consolidation and financial discipline.
