Netflix lays off 150 employees, about 2 pc of US workforce due to 'business needs'

San Francisco | Jagran News Desk: Streaming giant Netflix on Tuesday said it has laid off about 150 people, mostly in the United States due to the slow growth of the company in the past few months. The current layoffs done by the company comprise of approximately 2% of the company’s workforce in the United States and Canada.

"As we explained [in reporting Q1] earnings, our slowing revenue growth means we are also having to slow our cost growth as a company,” a Netflix rep said in an emailed statement.

“So sadly, we are letting around 150 employees go today, mostly U.S.-based. These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough as none of us wants to say goodbye to such great colleagues. We’re working hard to support them through this very difficult transition.”

The job cuts come as Netflix reported its first loss of subscribers in more than a decade and forecast deeper losses in the coming quarter. It said the war in Ukraine and fierce competition contributed to the loss of customers.

As a result of its declining growth, Netflix said it would introduce a cheaper, ad-supported tier and look more closely at its spending.

“We’re trying to be smart about it and prudent in terms of pulling back on some of that spend growth to reflect the realities of the revenue growth of the business,” Netflix Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann told investors during the company’s most recent earnings call.

As per a Variety report, in addition to the layoffs, Netflix is also eliminating about 70 part-time jobs in its animation studio and is also cutting freelance roles in its social media and publishing group.

“A number of agency contractors have also been impacted by the news announced this morning,” the Netflix spokesperson said. “We are grateful for their contributions to Netflix.”