Netflix is laying off about 6% of its employee base, or close to 1,000 employees, the company confirmed to TechCrunch.
The streaming giant said most of the cuts will affect its product, tech, legal and human resources departments. The company said it will “continue to invest aggressively in high-impact areas” to improve its service, and said it is on track to deliver on its full-year forecast.
Netflix had 16,000 full-time employees at the end of last year, according to its annual filing with regulators.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the news, citing an internal memo sent to employees.
“Our mission – to entertain the world – is ambitious, and delivery requires us to be disciplined about where we prioritize our people and resources,” the Journal quoted the company’s co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters as writing in the memo.
The layoffs come after a protracted bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio businesses, which Netflix lost to Paramount Skydance earlier this year. Netflix apparently has great potential at Warner Bros.’ Assets that include its studios, HBO, streaming platforms, games, and TV networks like CNN and HGTV.
Long the dominant TV app, Netflix has faced increased competition in recent years from the likes of YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and other social apps to attract and keep users’ eyes. According to reports from several market research companies, social apps like TikTok are catching up to Netflix when it comes to user engagement, and YouTube is said to surpass Netflix in average daily views in 2025.
The streaming giant has extensively tried to extract more value from its subscribers, raising prices, expanding its ad-supported tier, and investing in live events and sports, gaming, and children’s programming to increase user engagement.
It has also bet on AI-supported features, gaming, and video podcasts, and has short-form video content alongside the new design of its mobile app to compete for users’ attention with social media platforms.
In 2025, Netflix reported revenue of $45.2 billion, and said that ad revenue rose to over $1.5 billion.
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