Netflix Fires 150 Employees In A Month After Loss In Subscribers & Revenue

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In a recent blow, Netflix removed 150 workers from employment almost a month after it was reported that the platform is losing subscribers en masse. The impact of this layoff, however, will be limited to the staff members in Netflix’s California office in the US. In terms of size, it will comprise nearly 2% of the company’s North American workforce.

Why is Netflix Laying Off Its Staff?

After a reported loss in subscribers for the first time in a decade, Netflix’s revenue has been seeing a slump. According to reports, the layoff is an attempt to cut costs as profits see a consistent downfall as a consequence of losing subscribers.

In its official statement, Netflix stated - "These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough as none of us want to say goodbye to such great colleagues."

You can add my name to the long list of Netflix #Tudum layoffs! Not sure yet what my next steps will be, but if you know of any FT or freelance opportunities in entertainment, journalism or marketing/PR, my DMs are open! Bonus if the work is related to Korean pop culture!😀🇰🇷

— Regina Kim (@ReginaEKim) May 17, 2022

Netflix had been suffering an exodus of subscribers following some controversial decisions taken by the entertainment giant, one of them being an extra fee to be charged from consumers for passwords shared with different devices.

According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, various departments were affected due to the layoffs, including communications, recruiting, and content. Moreover, parts of the Netflix business have been projected to be going through losses, although it hasn’t been confirmed yet.

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Employees Disclosed Their Unfortunate Layoffs Online

Netflix employees who had been fired took to social media handles such as Twitter and LinkedIn to share their dismay with the world. Concern for their future and the resulting uncertainty was a consistent theme in their accounts.

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Eugenee, an employee who became a victim of the unfortunate layoff event, shared on her LinkedIn handle - “There’s been a lot of layoffs happening in big-tech, and as of this morning, Netflix, unfortunately, joined the bandwagon. About 150 of the most amazing, kind, talented individuals I’ve ever had the chance of working with were let go alongside me.”

unfortunately i, too, was affected by the netflix layoffs today. it was a wild ride and i'm really proud of the work that i did, particularly being part of the @netflixgolden launch, and feel v. lucky i got to work with such brilliant people

— Madelyn Chung 鍾舒華✨ (@madelynchung) May 17, 2022

While companies have suffered due to the Covid-lockdown period, employees have suffered in the form of job losses, salary cuts, and also the termination of contracts.

Some of them, however, were considerate of the company’s reasoning and reflected with sadness that they would miss working with the streaming giant. For instance, one of them wrote on Twitter, “It was a wild ride and I'm really proud of the work that I did,” 

A Series Of Losses: How Will Netflix Cope With The Situation?

While Netflix continues to be the apparent market leader with 220 million users worldwide, it has experienced severe competition in recent years with the introduction of competitor platforms such as Disney Plus, HBO, and Amazon's Prime Video.

The company revealed its financial losses the previous month, the prime reasons being the war in Ukraine and the subsequent withdrawal from the Russian market. In order to compensate for the situation, the platform decided to raise its prices in the US.

Many observers of Netflix are suggesting that the move has resulted in a sizeable loss of subscribers in the US, which when combined with its absence in Russia takes the total subscriber loss to nearly 700,000.

The news of the crisis started emerging when the industry revealed that Netflix had lost 200,000 members in the first quarter of 2022 and that another two million were projected to leave in the next quarter.

The news immediately sparked off an investor sell-off, with the firm's stock plunging 35% in just one day. 

The Attempt To Salvage The Situation

Since then, the corporation has taken drastic steps in an effort to preserve funds, such as layoffs, reduction of content, and putting on hold its own productions- the recent example being the termination of Pearl, an animated series produced by Meghan Markle.

In its defense, Netflix claims it is considering a more cost-effective ad-based approach. Netflix also put restrictions on password sharing, which it claims has cost it 100 million homes. According to some analysts, Netflix has run out of straightforward methods to build the business after a boom in sign-ups during the pandemic.

Netflix isn't the only company terminating employees. In recent weeks, a number of US tech companies as well as Indian corporates, from start-ups to large names like Uber and Twitter, have announced hiring slowdowns or freezes.

In India, Unacademy, an online coaching and education portal, also fired 1000 employees, accounting to almost 10% of its total workforce!

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