On October 14, 2026, Netflix, the American streaming media giant, announced that it would cut approximately 6% of its workforce, affecting around 1,000 employees.
In an email memo sent to Netflix employees on Wednesday, joint CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos disclosed the layoff plan. They stated that the departments most affected by the layoffs would be the company’s product, technology, legal, and human resources teams.
“Our mission—to provide entertainment to the world—is ambitious, and to achieve this mission, we need to exercise self-restraint in prioritizing where we allocate personnel and resources,” the two CEOs wrote in the memo. “Our business performance is strong and continuously growing, with the potential to meet our annual forecast goals. We will continue to heavily invest in impactful areas to enhance our service and further drive growth and innovation.”
However, the memo also pointed out: “Doing this means making clear objectives choices throughout the entire scope of our business so that we can continue to fulfill our mission to our members, partners, employees, and investors.”
Apart from the memo from the joint CEOs, Netflix declined to provide further comments on the layoff plan.
Driven by an increase in member registrations and price hikes, Netflix’s profits have grown this year. In the second quarter, the company reached a profit of $3.4 billion, a 9% increase compared to the same period last year, with a revenue of $12.56 billion, a 13% year-over-year increase.
The company is set to announce its third-quarter earnings on October 20.
As Netflix announced the layoffs, competition in the streaming industry is intensifying. While Netflix still dominates the streaming market, holding a 19% market share according to the latest data from JustWatch, rivals like Amazon’s Prime Video and Disney’s Disney+ are closely trailing behind, challenging its position.
Last week, following Paramount Skydance Corporation’s $81 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max now fall under the same company, the newly merged “Skydance.” This is expected to put even greater competitive pressure on Netflix.
In late 2025, Netflix signed an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business but abandoned the acquisition plan in February of this year.
(Reference: The Associated Press)