Netflix cuts six percent of its workforce, around 1,000 jobs, in its largest layoff yet

Netflix is laying off approximately 1,000 employees, six percent of its workforce, in the largest round of job cuts in the company's history. According to The Verge, co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters announced the decision in an email to staff, a copy of which was obtained by Variety. The reduction is larger than the five percent figure that had been reported the week before.

Where the cuts land

The memo indicates the layoffs will mostly hit Netflix's product, technology, human resources and legal teams. Sarandos and Peters framed the move as a matter of focus rather than distress, writing that the company's mission "to entertain the world" is ambitious and demands discipline about where people and resources are prioritized. They added that Netflix will continue to invest aggressively in what they described as high-impact areas to improve the service and drive growth, and that doing so requires "focused choices across the business" in order to keep delivering for members, partners, employees and investors.

A bigger cut than 2022

This round dwarfs Netflix's previous layoffs. The company cut 150 jobs in May 2022 and another 300 in June 2022, when it was trying to reduce costs in the face of slower revenue growth. At roughly 1,000 positions, the current reduction is more than double those two rounds combined, and it arrives without the same revenue pressure that motivated the earlier cuts.

Trimming while the business grows

The financial backdrop makes the decision unusual. According to The Verge, Netflix's revenue climbed to $45.2 billion in 2025, with net income reaching $11 billion from a base of 325 million subscribers. The company's advertising business more than doubled its revenue between 2024 and 2025 to $1.5 billion, helped by continued growth of its $7.99-per-month ad-supported plan, which had more than 9.4 million subscribers as of May 2025. In other words, the layoffs come at a company that is growing revenue, expanding advertising income and serving a large subscriber base, not one fighting decline.

Why it matters

A six percent cut at a profitable market leader sends a signal to the broader streaming and tech labor market. It suggests that strong financial results no longer shield corporate roles in product, engineering support, HR and legal, and that large platforms are concentrating spending on a narrower set of priorities even as their top lines expand. For employees, the message from Netflix's leadership is that headcount is now treated as a resource to be allocated strategically rather than maintained. If other streaming and tech companies follow Netflix's lead, the largest layoff round in its history could mark a wider shift in how the industry staffs itself.