Netflix strikes with the ax by laying off approximately 1,000 employees, representing 6% of its workforce, in the largest layoff to date.
Most of the layoffs will affect workers in Netflix’s product, technology, legal and human resources teams, co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters wrote in an email to employees Wednesday morning about the layoffs.
“Our mission – to entertain the world – is ambitious, and to achieve it we must be disciplined about prioritizing our people and resources,” the co-CEOs said in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Variety (read the full below).
A Netflix spokesperson said the company had no comment beyond Sarandos and Peters’ note.
Netflix, the industry’s largest premium streaming provider with more than 325 million customers worldwide, has seen double-digit revenue and profit growth in recent years. In 2025, the company had revenue of $45.2 billion (up 16%) and net income of $11 billion (up 26%). But investors fear Netflix’s engagement per user will slow in the first half of 2026.
“Our business is strong and growing, and we remain on track to achieve our full-year guidance,” Sarandos and Peters said in the note. For 2026, Netflix forecasts revenue of $51.0 billion to $51.4 billion (up 13 to 14 percent) and an operating margin of 31.5 percent (up from 29.5 percent in 2024).
The co-CEOs continued: “We will continue to invest aggressively in high-impact areas to improve our service and further drive growth and innovation. ” However, they said: “This means making targeted choices across the business so that we can continue to meet the expectations of our members, partners, employees and investors. »
At the end of 2025, Netflix had approximately 16,000 full-time employees.
Netflix’s last major layoffs took place in 2022, when around 450 employees were cut following the streamer’s net drop of 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of this year, its first such decline in more than a decade. Since then, the company has made additional, more modest cuts, including laying off several dozen members of its global product team earlier in 2026.
Netflix is scheduled to report its third quarter 2026 results on Tuesday, October 20, after the market close. For the second quarter, the streamer reported profits in line with Wall Street forecasts, with revenue up 13.4% year over year to $12.6 billion and an operating margin of 33.4% (down from 34.1% a year earlier). But Netflix issued third-quarter revenue guidance that was lower than analysts’ expectations, sending the stock price lower.
Netflix shares were down 0.3% in trading as of 10:10 a.m. ET Wednesday, at $70.26/share, amid a decline in the broader market.
Read Sarandos and Peters’ memo to Netflix staffers:
Team — We wanted to share that we are making a number of organizational changes and as a result we will be laying off approximately 6% of our colleagues, with the greatest impact on our Product, Technical, Legal, and HR teams.
Such decisions are never easy and we do not take them lightly. Our top priority today is to support those leaving Netflix. The process will vary somewhat by country, but executives will contact affected employees soon. If you do leave, please know that we will support you through this transition and ensure you have as much clarity and context as possible. We also want to thank you. What you built and the care you gave to Netflix made a lasting difference and we will always be grateful.
For the rest of the team, we know you have questions too. Our mission – to entertain the world – is ambitious, and to achieve it we must be disciplined about prioritizing staffing and resources. Our business is strong and growing, and we remain on track to meet our full-year guidance. We will continue to invest aggressively in high-impact areas to improve our service and drive further growth and innovation. To achieve this, we must make targeted choices across the business so that we can continue to meet the expectations of our members, partners, employees and investors.
We know changes like this are difficult, but let’s stay focused. We’re living through one of the most dynamic times in entertainment history – and it’s a perfectly fitting time for a company like ours, built at the intersection of technology and entertainment. Now it’s up to us to step up and live in the moment together, as we always do.
Ted and Greg
Gn bussni
