Netflix will eliminate roughly 1,000 jobs, about 6% of its global staff, in the company’s most sweeping workforce reduction in years.
Co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos delivered the news to employees Wednesday through an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. Product, technology, legal, and human resources departments will absorb the heaviest impact.
The streaming leader characterized the move as part of broader organizational restructuring rather than financial distress. “Decisions like these are never straightforward, and we don’t take them lightly,” the executives wrote. They insisted the business remains healthy but argued Netflix must stay “disciplined about where we prioritize our people and resources” while funding high-impact growth areas.
Peters and Sarandos declined additional comment beyond the memo.
The cuts land during a paradoxical stretch for the company. Netflix posted $3.4 billion in profit during its second financial quarter, up 9% from the prior year. Revenue climbed 13% to $12.56 billion, fueled by subscriber gains and price hikes. Yet the company’s third-quarter forecast disappointed Wall Street, and those earnings arrive next week.
Meanwhile, competitive pressure keeps intensifying. Netflix still commands 19% of the streaming market, according to data from JustWatch, but Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ remain close contenders. Last week’s $81 billion Paramount takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery added another wrinkle. That merger now places HBO Max and Paramount+ under one roof, with plans to combine them into a unified streaming platform. Netflix had pursued Warner’s assets late last year before walking away in February.
The company ended 2025 with roughly 16,000 full-time employees worldwide. Wednesday’s layoffs represent the largest single round of cuts since 2022, signaling that even the category leader faces pressure to streamline operations as the streaming wars enter a consolidation phase.
