Netflix Set to Layoff Hundreds of Employees Amid Engagement Crisis

Streaming giant Netflix is reportedly set to announce the layoffs of about five percent of its workforce.

The streamer will reduce by five percent as soon as next week, and up to 800 of its 16,000 employees will receive pink slips starting next week, according to Reuters.

The cost cutting move will constitute the largest layoffs that Netflix has instituted since 2022, when the company laid off hundreds amid a down turn in growth and a shrinking subscriber base.

Netflix is facing even harsher headwinds now with the growth of so many other smaller streaming services flooding users with more options, not to mention that Youtube has been steadily increasing its share of online TV watchers.

The streamer reported second-quarter revenue of $12.56 billion in July, which was up 13% over 2025. They also reported a net income of $3.4 billion and an operating margin of 33.4%. Still, Netflix lowered its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to a range of $51 billion to $51.4 billion and added that it expects to earn $3 billion for the year on advertising sales. The company’s stock fell more than 8% after the release of the report.

To confront the growing competition, Netflix has been working to expand its services into gaming, live programming, and a more concerted advertising program.

Early this month, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos admitted that the company is “not growing as fast as I want us to,” in response to the stock price nosedive.

“Overall, we’re not growing as fast as I want us to, and we’re working on making that move faster,” Sarandos said at Bloomberg’s 2026 Screentime event.

Sarandos went on to clarify, “We’re definitely… not in the UGC [user-generated content] business,” adding, “We’re in the professionally produced content business.”

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