Netflix plans to cut about 1,000 jobs, or roughly six percent of its workforce, in its largest round of job cuts since 2022, according to The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper first reported the move, and several outlets, including Variety and Engadget, cited its account. Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters told staff in a memo on Wednesday morning, Variety reported.
According to the memo, most of the reductions will affect the product, technology, legal and human resources teams. The co-CEOs wrote that the company must be “disciplined” about where it puts its people and resources. A Netflix spokesperson told Variety the company had no comment beyond the memo.
At the end of 2025, the company employed roughly 16,000 full-time workers, TheWrap reported. In the memo, the leaders said the company still expects to meet its full-year forecast and will keep investing in high-impact areas.
Slowing growth and a weaker stock
The cuts come as investors worry about the pace of growth at the streaming company. Business Insider reported that the stock has fallen more than 30 percent over the past six months. Variety reported that shares were down 1.4 percent at $69.45 by 11:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, amid a broader market decline.
Investors have also been concerned that engagement slowed in the first half of 2026, Variety reported. Netflix stopped reporting subscriber totals last year and will now release engagement figures just once annually, TheWrap and Business Insider reported. Nielsen data cited by TheWrap put Netflix at 7.8 percent of TV viewing in July, compared with 14.2 percent for YouTube.
Netflix reported $45.2 billion in revenue for 2025, up 16 percent, Variety reported. Earlier this year, the company dropped its effort to buy Warner Bros., and Paramount Skydance prevailed in the contest, Engadget reported.
Earlier cuts and industry peers
The latest cuts are the largest since 2022, when Netflix let go of about 450 staffers after a net subscriber decline in early 2022, Variety reported. Netflix has made smaller reductions since then, including several dozen product team roles earlier in 2026, Variety reported. TheWrap said the company cut a small number of product employees in February.
Other media companies have also cut jobs recently. NBCUniversal said in early October it was parting with a few hundred global streaming technology employees, and Disney had made its third set of layoffs in half a year by late September, Business Insider reported.
What happens next
The streamer will release third-quarter results on Tuesday, Oct. 20, after trading closes, Variety reported. Its second-quarter revenue rose 13.4 percent to $12.6 billion, but its third-quarter revenue guidance came in below analyst expectations, Variety reported. Leaders are expected to contact affected employees soon, and the process will vary by country, according to the memo. Netflix has not said how many roles will be cut in each area, and the reports do not say whether more reductions are planned or what the cuts will cost the company.
