New York, Europe Brief News – Netflix announced it laid off 300 employees in a second round of job cuts after losing subscribers for the first time in more than a decade.
The cuts amounted to about 4% of the streaming giant’s workforce, and mostly affected US employees. They came after the company cut 150 jobs last month.
Netflix said the job losses were due to the slump in the company’s revenue.
The streaming service is battling an exodus of viewers this year.
“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,” the company said in a statement.
It wasn’t disclosed which parts of the business would see job losses, but the Los Angeles Times reported that recruiting, communications and also the content department were all affected.
Some people also disclosed their job loss online.
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In April, the streaming giant shocked the industry when it revealed it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of 2022, and warned another two million were expected to quit in the coming quarter.
The news sparked an investor sell-off, with the firm’s stock plunging 35% in one day. It is now trading at $190 (£152), a 46% drop on its previous premium.
While Netflix has 220 million subscribers globally and remains the clear market leader, it has faced fierce competition in recent years with the arrival of competitor platforms such as Disney Plus, HBO, and Amazon’s Prime Video.
In its earnings report last month, the company also said the war in Ukraine and the decision to raise its prices in the US had cost it subscribers.
Pulling out of the Russian market alone had cost the service 700,000 members, it revealed.
Along with job losses, the company is also cutting content and pulling back on its own creations. Earlier in May it cancelled development of Pearl, an animated series created by Meghan Markle, in its move to cut costs.
