Netflix Makes Biggest Workforce Cut Since 2022

Following our reporting earlier this week that Netflix was preparing its first major workforce reduction since 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday morning, right before the US cash session, that the company is cutting 6% of its staff, or roughly 1,000 positions.

WSJ obtained an email that Co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos sent to employees earlier this morning, outlining plans to cut 6% of the workforce, or roughly 1,000 jobs. The cuts highlight mounting pressure from slowing growth and soft engagement growth after years of the streaming platform pushing unappealing, woke, toxic content.

“Our mission, to entertain the world, is ambitious, and delivering on it requires us to be disciplined about where we prioritize our people and resources,” the executives wrote in the email.

The executives wrote that the company expects to meet its full-year earnings forecast and will continue investing aggressively in important areas while taking a cautious approach to staffing and spending decisions.

The workforce reduction follows a rough stretch for the stock. Shares are trading slightly higher at around $71.27 in premarket trading but down nearly 25% for the year as of Tuesday’s close.

Last month, HSBC and Wells Fargo both downgraded Netflix over engagement concerns. HSBC’s Mohammed Khallouf moved the stock to Hold from Buy and cut his price target to $76 from $96, citing YouTube’s growing living-room presence and Netflix’s falling share of US TV time. Wells Fargo’s Steve Cahall cut his rating to Underweight from Equal Weight and his price target to $57 from $80, citing “worrying” engagement trends.

Nielsen’s July Gauge put Netflix at 7.8% of US TV viewing against YouTube’s 14.2%, TheWrap said. Reuters said the company is navigating a more competitive streaming market as media companies consolidate and YouTube takes a growing share of viewership and advertising spending.

Netflix’s Latest Failure…

Meanwhile, the based streaming platform Angel Studios has doubled its subscription base from a year ago, topping 3 million last month.