Netflix reportedly set to cut around 5% of its workforce

Netflix has not implemented a major round of lay-offs since 2022

Netflix

Netflix is set to implement a round of lay-offs that will see its workforce cut by around 5%, according to a report in entertainment outlet Puck News.

The streamer could announce the cuts as early as next week, said Puck, which cited anonymous sources. Netflix is due to report its third-quarter earnings on October 20.

At the end of 2025, the streamer had around 16,000 full-time employees, per a securities filing, meaning a 5% headcount cut would equate to upwards of 800 jobs.

The report comes as Netflix’s stock price continues to languish. After hitting a high of US$132 per share in the summer of 2025, its value has fallen 46% to around US$72 per share today.

The stock dip began when Netflix’s interest in acquiring Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) first came to light in October 2025. While Netflix ultimately bowed out of the bidding in February, paving the way for Paramount Skydance to clinch WBD, the stock price has not recovered.

The streamer has also not been able to grow engagement as much had been hoped. In the first half of 2026, engagement rose 2% compared to the prior year, with co-CEO Ted Sarandos last week conceding “we’re not growing as fast as I want us to” during Bloomberg’s Screentime conference. He added that he did not have any regrets about pursuing WBD.

Netflix stopped reporting subscriber numbers at the end of 2024, though disclosed in January 2026 that it has around 325 million paid members globally.

It is unclear whether slimming down the workforce would also mean the overall content budget is reduced. However, for its part, Netflix has committed to spending around US$20bn on content in 2026 and said it plans to grow overall content spending in the years ahead.

Unlike some of its rivals in Hollywood, many of which are tethered to legacy TV models, Netflix has not made many rounds of lay-offs in recent years. The last significant cuts came in 2022, on the heels of stalling subscriber growth that prompted a reset across the entire streaming ecosystem. It also made a small number of job cuts earlier this year, primarily focused on its product teams.

Netflix has yet to comment on the reports of upcoming cuts.