Netflix reportedly preparing to lay off 5% of workforce

Puck News first reported the news, ​citing people familiar with ​the matter, with titles such as Variety, Deadline, and Reuters following up on the story. Netflix declined to comment ⁠on the report.

Netflix had around 16,000 full-time employees at the end of 2025, meaning that a 5% reduction would equate to around 800 job losses. Roughly 68% (approximately 10,900) of its workers have been located in the US and Canada since December.

The streamer’s last major round of layoffs ​came in 2022, when the company cut hundreds of jobs amid slowing ​growth and subscriber losses.

News of the potential cuts comes amid an increasingly competitive streaming market, with Paramount and Warner Bros. having just completed their merger and YouTube gaining a growing share of viewership.

The streamer’s share price has dropped more than 40% over the past year as Wall Street has increasingly scrutinised its viewer engagement, which increased only 2% over the first half of the year.

Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO, Netflix, addressed the subject at a recent Bloomberg conference, said: “Overall, we’re not growing as fast as I want us to, and we’re working on making that move faster.”

At IBC2026, Anna Mallett, VP Production, EMEA, explained how the streamer is expanding its media production suite (MPS) to third‑party tools, marking a significant shift in how the streamer works with technology vendors and production partners worldwide. Discover more here.