Netflix cuts about 1,000 jobs as layoffs reach product and technology teams

Netflix began laying off about 1,000 employees on Wednesday, October 14, with cuts concentrated in product, technology, human resources and legal teams, according to Business Insider. Variety reported that the reductions amount to about 6% of the streaming company’s workforce. The scale makes this a major change for staff across several functions, although the reports do not establish a definitive reason for the cuts.

Business Insider said a person familiar with the plans confirmed the approximate job figure and that affected employees were notified Wednesday. Its account identifies where most cuts fall, but does not give a breakdown by team or location. The figure is an estimate, so it does not establish an exact final count of people losing their jobs.

Variety reported that co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters wrote to employees about the layoffs Wednesday morning. It quoted their memo: ‘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.’ The message describes a priority decision; the available reporting does not tie the layoffs to a specific programme, product or financial result.

How the cuts compare with Netflix’s 2022 layoffs

The reports differ on the round’s place in Netflix’s history. Business Insider called it the company’s biggest since 2022, when Netflix made major cuts after losing subscribers for the first time in more than a decade. Deadline likewise described the current reductions as the biggest in four years and said Netflix had not made significant layoffs since that earlier round. Variety called the October cuts the company’s biggest to date. Those descriptions should not be treated as a single agreed historical ranking.

The business picture before Netflix’s October earnings

The layoffs come a week before Netflix is due to report third-quarter earnings after the market closes on October 20, according to Business Insider. That scheduled report may give investors a fuller picture of the company’s recent performance. Business Insider said Netflix met Wall Street’s earnings expectations in the previous quarter. Neither that earlier result nor the timing of the upcoming report establishes why executives chose to reduce staff now.

Business Insider reported that Netflix shares had fallen more than 30% over six months and more than 40% over a year. It also reported that Sarandos said at a Bloomberg event in late September, ‘we’re not growing as fast as I want us to, and we’re working on making that move faster.’ Those are signs of pressure and an executive’s assessment of growth, but the reports do not identify either as the cause of Wednesday’s layoffs.

The company has also changed what it charges subscribers. Business Insider reported that Netflix raised the monthly price of its standard ad-free plan in March from $17.99 to $19.99, and its ad-supported plan from $7.99 to $8.99. Those changes matter to viewers weighing the service’s cost, but the reporting does not connect the price increases to the staffing decision.

Viewing figures and wider streaming job cuts

Business Insider said Netflix viewership grew 2% in the first half of 2026, reaching 97 billion viewing hours. Citing Nielsen data, it reported that Netflix accounted for 7.8% of US television viewing in July, against 14.2% for YouTube and 4.7% for Disney’s streaming services. Netflix’s share was down from 9% in December, which Business Insider described as its highest in more than five years following hits including Stranger Things. These figures describe different measures of viewing and do not, by themselves, explain the job cuts.

Business Insider reported that Netflix would move from publishing its detailed engagement report twice a year to publishing it annually. It quoted the company telling shareholders that ‘engagement is not just the quantity of view hours, but also refers to the quality and variety of our offering.’ The changed reporting schedule affects how often the company releases that particular measure; Business Insider also noted that Netflix does not disclose engagement in the same way as its paid streaming peers.

Netflix is not the only entertainment company reported to be reducing staff. Business Insider said NBCUniversal announced in early October that it was parting with a few hundred employees in global streaming technology, while Disney made a third round of layoffs in six months in late September. Those separate decisions show a wider period of job cuts in the sector, without establishing a shared cause for the Netflix reductions. For Netflix employees, the immediate reported change is that notifications began October 14 across several teams, ahead of the company’s October 20 earnings release.