Netflix to cut 6% of staff, its biggest layoff round since 2022

Netflix is to lay off 6 per cent of its employees, the largest round of job cuts at the company since 2022. Large numbers of workers are being shown the door across the IT sector, and many companies have seen waves of layoffs in recent times. Netflix's name has now been added to the list.

According to the company, the cuts will mainly affect the product, technology, legal and HR departments. Netflix had an estimated 16,000 employees at the end of last year.

Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters informed employees of the decision by email. They said the decision to let staff go was not an easy one for the company. They also said the company would stand by the employees who are being laid off during this transition.

The two executives added that Netflix's business is strong and that the company is working towards its goals for this year. They noted that the company will continue to invest in areas that help business growth and improve its services.

Although Netflix has a large audience, the company faces heavy competition. It is up against intense competition from platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, where much of the content is available for free. As a result, viewers are drawn there and spend much of their time on those platforms. This has made it challenging for Netflix to retain viewers on its own platform.

The company no longer wants to depend only on subscription revenue, and has a separate strategy for this. It has decided to expand its business in areas such as advertising, live programming and gaming, and efforts towards this are under way.

Netflix had also cut jobs in 2022, when an estimated 450 employees were laid off. The latest round is the largest since then. The decision could heighten concerns over jobs in the global technology and entertainment sectors. Employees in every segment are anxious about whether the impact of layoffs is being felt in other sectors as well.