Netflix cuts about 1,000 jobs, mostly in product and tech
Netflix is cutting about 6% of its workforce, close to 1,000 jobs, mostly in product, technology, legal and HR, while saying it remains on track for its forecast.
3 min read
By the numbers
- jobs being cut
- ~1,000
- of Netflix's workforce
- ~6%
- full-time employees at the end of 2025
- ~16,000
- Netflix share price this year, per Fortune
- -22%
Netflix is cutting about 6% of its workforce, close to 1,000 jobs, the company confirmed on October 14, 2026. Most of the cuts fall on product, technology, legal and HR teams. Netflix says it will keep investing in high-impact areas and remains on track to meet its full-year forecast. It shows that even a company that says its business is growing is trimming the teams that build its products.
What Netflix announced
Netflix confirmed the cuts to TechCrunch after The Wall Street Journal reported an internal memo. The memo came from co-chief executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. They wrote that delivering on Netflix's mission "requires us to be disciplined."
The company frames the cuts as discipline about where it puts its people and resources, Fortune reports. Neither report gives severance terms or a count for each team.
| Measure | Figure | Reported by |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs cut | About 1,000 | TechCrunch, Fortune |
| Share of the workforce | About 6% | TechCrunch, Fortune |
| Full-time staff at the end of 2025 | About 16,000 | TechCrunch, Fortune |
| Revenue in 2025 | $45.2 billion | TechCrunch |
| Ad revenue in 2025 | More than $1.5 billion | TechCrunch |
| Share price this year | Down 22% | Fortune |
Why now
Netflix lost a bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming and studio businesses earlier this year. Paramount Skydance topped its offer, and Netflix walked away, Fortune reports.
Competition for viewers' time has also grown. TechCrunch points to YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, and notes that YouTube reportedly passed Netflix in average daily viewing in 2025.
The company is still growing. Fortune reports revenue of almost $25 billion in the first half of 2026, up 15% from a year earlier. But growth is slower than its leaders and shareholders want, the outlet says. Netflix shares are down 22% this year and 42% over the past 12 months.
A company that has done this before
Netflix has a long history with cuts, Fortune notes. In 2001, after the dot-com bust, it laid off a third of its roughly 120 employees.
That round shaped its culture. Patty McCord, then head of HR, coined the term "talent density." Netflix still uses its "keeper test," which asks whether a manager would fight to keep an employee.
In 2022, after its first subscriber loss in over a decade, Netflix cut about 150 jobs in May and about 300 in June. It had roughly 11,000 employees at the time. Fortune notes that the company is not describing this year's cuts as a talent-density effort.
What this means for developers
For engineers and the teams that hire them:
- Healthy companies cut too. Netflix says its business is growing and on track, yet it is cutting product and technology roles. A layoff is not always a sign that a company is in trouble.
- The fight is for attention. Netflix's rivals now include YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Teams building media and entertainment apps are competing with short video, not just other streamers.
- Expect narrower product bets. TechCrunch notes Netflix has been adding AI-supported features such as a revamped search. With fewer product staff, it may focus on fewer projects.
- Watch the next earnings report. Netflix says it remains on track for its full-year forecast. Its next results will show whether the cuts change its plans.
Sources
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