Netflix lays off 150 staff as cost-cutting measures continue

Netflix has laid off around 150 members of staff, most of them based in the US, as the global streamer continues its cost-cutting measures in the face of recent subscriber woes.

The staff cuts are understood to largely be in creative, across both TV and film, with a number at executive level, including in original content.

The lay-offs come four weeks after Netflix reported its first drop in subscribers for more than a decade, with the loss of 200,000 sending its share price plummeting and prompting a sudden push towards ad-supported streaming.

The streamer then faced further indignity from its own shareholders, after being handed a lawsuit earlier this month, alleging that the company had misled the market about its ability to maintain its upward subscriber trajectory.

“As we explained on earnings, our slowing revenue growth means we are also having to slow our cost growth as a company. So sadly, we are letting around 150 employees go today, mostly US-based,” confirmed a Netflix spokesperson in a statement to US trade Deadline, which first reported the story.

“These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough as none of us want to say goodbye to such great colleagues. We’re working hard to support them through this very difficult transition”.

Recent weeks have seen Netflix taking apparent cost-cutting action, including previous lay offs in its marketing department, cancelling big-budget shows such as comedy series Space Force and scrapping development on projects such as Pearl, the animation it had in the works with Meghan Markle’s Archewell Productions.