Netflix Cuts 1,000 Jobs, 6% of Staff, and Replaces Its Content Chief

Your daily brief on leadership and business

Netflix laid off about 1,000 people, or 6% of its workforce, in a move NPR described as a surprise. After the staff were told, the company dismissed its chief content officer. The chair of Netflix film and six other senior executives were let go as well.

Company leaders said they had to make tough decisions about where to trim or redirect investment. Netflix beat Wall Street expectations in the latest quarter, but its growth has slowed.

Slower growth in the US

Co-CEO Ted Sarandos told investors that viewer engagement in the US is slowing down. "We do need better execution in the U.S. It's just not growing as fast as it could or as fast as we'd like," he said.

Netflix is available in 190 countries. Sarandos credited the outgoing chief content officer, Bela Bajaria, with expanding the company's global reach. Her replacement is Peter Rice, a former president of 21st Century Fox. While running Fox Searchlight, he greenlit films including "Slumdog Millionaire," "Juno" and "Little Miss Sunshine."

Del Barco noted that Netflix has not had a water-cooler hit in a while, and said it will be interesting to see whether and how its content changes.

Natalie Jarvey, who covers the creator economy in Hollywood, called the dismissals "messy" and "sloppy" on "The Ankler Agenda" podcast. She added that they shocked a lot of people, though Netflix still approaches strategy and decision-making very differently from many Hollywood companies.

Hollywood is reshuffling

NPR's Mandalit del Barco said unease is spreading as TV and film companies consolidate. Disney had its third wave of layoffs in six months just a few weeks ago, and many people expect large cuts after the Skydance merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Skydance outbid Netflix for Warner Bros. and its assets.

Netflix also faces TikTok and YouTube, which has more revenue and a bigger audience, and it is signing up digital content creators. Sarandos continues to say Netflix is a streaming company first. It still releases some films in theaters before streaming them, including a Thanksgiving IMAX release of "The Further Mis-Adventures Of Cliff Booth" with Brad Pitt. Executives who once said they would never do sports are now livestreaming NFL games and plan to stream the Women's World Cup next summer.

The Thanksgiving release is a sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood.” Sarandos was also named this week to the board of directors of the American Film Institute.

Source: NPR