Netflix lays off about 1,000 people, its biggest job cuts since 2022

Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters told employees in a memo on Wednesday morning. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news. Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and TheWrap later published the full memo.

Here are the main points:

• How many: roughly 6% of staff, about 1,000 people.
• Who: the product, tech, legal and HR teams are hit hardest.
• How: the process "will vary somewhat by country," and leaders will contact affected employees soon.
• Scale: it's the company's largest round of cuts since 2022, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.

Netflix had about 16,000 full-time employees at the end of 2025, according to its annual filing, as TechCrunch and TheWrap report.

The memo opens with the people who are leaving. "Decisions like these are never easy, and we don't take them lightly," Sarandos and Peters wrote. "Our top priority today is to support those who are leaving Netflix."

They also thanked those employees: "What you've built, and the care you brought to Netflix, have made a lasting difference and we will always be grateful."

For everyone staying, the co-CEOs explained the reasoning:

"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. Our business is strong and growing, and we remain on track to deliver our full-year forecast."

They also spoke to the employees who are staying: "We know you have questions, too." Later, they wrote: "We know changes like this are tough, but let's stay focused."

They added that Netflix will "continue to invest aggressively in high-impact areas to improve our service and further drive growth and innovation." A Netflix representative had no further comment, Deadline and TheWrap report.

Netflix is still profitable and still the biggest subscription streamer, but its growth has slowed. The Hollywood Reporter says viewing time has stagnated in recent months.

Sarandos said so himself. At the Bloomberg Screentime summit on September 30, he said: "Overall, we're not growing as fast as I want us to, and we're working on making that move faster."

By the numbers:

• Stock: Netflix shares have fallen 25% in 2026, according to TheWrap.
• TV viewing: in July, Netflix had 7.8% of US TV viewing, compared with 14.2% for YouTube, per Nielsen's Gauge report, as cited by TheWrap.
• Revenue: Netflix reported $45.2 billion in revenue for 2025, and ad revenue above $1.5 billion, TechCrunch reports.

Why it matters: advertising is one of Netflix's growth areas, The Hollywood Reporter notes. Ads pay more when people watch more. So when viewing time stops climbing, the pressure grows to find new ways to keep people watching.

Not just other streaming services. Netflix is fighting for your attention against apps on your phone.

TechCrunch lists YouTube, TikTok and Instagram as the main rivals for viewers' time. According to market research firms cited by TechCrunch, social apps like TikTok are catching up to Netflix in user engagement. YouTube is said to have passed Netflix in average daily viewing in 2025.

It's like a movie theater realizing its competition isn't the theater across the street anymore. It's the phone in every customer's pocket.

There's also a deal Netflix didn't get. Earlier this year, Netflix lost a long bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery's studios and streaming business to Paramount Skydance, TechCrunch notes. We covered how that Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery deal closed.

A lot. Netflix has been adding new kinds of content to keep people watching. TheWrap and TechCrunch list several efforts:

• New formats: podcasts, video podcasts, vertical video and short-form clips.
• Live and sports: live events and sports broadcasts.
• Games: a growing push into gaming.
• Creators: bringing YouTube talent to Netflix.
• Partners: a content partnership with French broadcaster TF1, and talks about live channels and bundles with services such as Peacock.
• Pricing: higher prices and a bigger ad-supported plan.
• Movie theaters: "La Bola Negra" gets Netflix's first 45-day theatrical window this fall, and Greta Gerwig's "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew" opens in theaters in February.

Netflix has also changed what it shares. It stopped reporting subscriber numbers last year and now focuses on engagement, TheWrap reports. Its detailed viewing reports will come out once a year instead of twice.

Partly. Last week, Puck reported that Netflix was planning to cut about 5% of its staff, The AV Club noted at the time. The final number is a little higher, at about 6%.

Netflix had mostly avoided big layoffs in recent years. Its last major round was in 2022 and affected about 300 people, mostly in the US, according to The AV Club. TheWrap adds that Netflix laid off a small number of product team employees in February.

The big picture: Netflix isn't alone. The AV Club points out that Disney has had three rounds of layoffs this year, and that Paramount Skydance has warned of "difficult decisions that affect our workforce" after its merger.

Investors have been watching Netflix closely for months.

• July: Netflix's second-quarter earnings were in line with Wall Street's expectations, but its shares fell sharply in after-hours trading, according to The AV Club.
• Before the cuts: The Hollywood Reporter reported that a reorganization "may be undertaken in the next few months," with the stock down 20% at the time, as The AV Club noted.
• September 30: Sarandos said Netflix wasn't growing as fast as he wanted, while adding, "The business is great and growing fine," according to The AV Club.

Netflix is also releasing David Fincher's "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth" as its first IMAX release in November, TheWrap reports.

What's next: Netflix reports its third-quarter results on October 20. The Hollywood Reporter says the company is expected to share more about the changes then.

The co-CEOs ended their memo by looking ahead. They called this "one of the most dynamic times in the history of entertainment" and said it is "a moment perfectly suited to a company like ours that's built at the intersection of technology and entertainment."

In real life If you pay for Netflix, nothing changes on your account today. Netflix hasn't announced any change to plans, prices or shows with these cuts. The earnings report on October 20 is the next place to watch for news about the service itself.

• Your subscription: no announced changes to plans or prices with the layoffs.
• The service: most cuts are in product and tech, the teams that build the app. Netflix says it will keep investing in improving the service.
• If you work in tech: this adds to a year of job cuts at big entertainment companies, and at Netflix the cuts land mostly in product and tech roles.