Netflix’s biggest layoffs in 4 yrs may come next week, here’s how many could lose jobs

This could be Netflix’s biggest job cuts since 2022

Netflix is preparing to lay off about 5% of its employees as part of a wider restructuring, according to a report by Puck News. Sources told the publication the announcement could come as early as next week, with the streamer under pressure over slowing viewer engagement and a share price that has slid through the year. It would be Netflix’s biggest round of job cuts in four years, and it would land just days before the company reports its third-quarter earnings on October 20. The numbers add up quickly. Puck puts Netflix's global headcount at roughly 17,000, which means around 850 jobs could go. The company's own annual filing listed about 16,000 full-time employees at the end of 2025, so the final number may be closer to 800. It is still unclear which teams will be hit hardest.

Netflix's biggest job cuts since 2022 arrive ahead of Q3 earnings

If the cuts go ahead, they will be Netflix's largest since 2022. That year, the streamer lost 200,000 subscribers in a single quarter, its first such drop in more than a decade. It let go of about 150 staff in May and roughly 300 more in June. Smaller rounds have followed, including several dozen roles in its global product team earlier this year. The stock has fallen more than 40% over the past year. Puck links the pressure to last year’s failed bid for Warner Bros and to engagement that grew just 2% in the first half of 2026. The news also lands as layoffs spread across the media business, with Disney cutting jobs three times this year. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos admitted as much at a Bloomberg event last month. "Overall, we're not growing as fast as I want us to," he said. He also flagged live programming as a drag on the numbers, saying it takes up about 5% of the content budget while drawing roughly 1% of total viewing.

Netflix's costs are growing faster than its revenue

Netflix is still growing. Revenue rose 13% to $12.6 billion in the April to June quarter. Spending outside content grew faster, though. Marketing, technology and administrative costs together climbed 18% to around $2.3 billion. Technology and development alone jumped 22%, mostly because of a $142 million rise in personnel costs. Headcount kept climbing too, with about 2,000 full-time employees added through 2025. Revenue growth, meanwhile, has cooled from 18% in the last quarter of 2025 to 16% and then 13% this year. Netflix expects around 12% for the September quarter, but it is still targeting a 31.5% operating margin for 2026, up from 29.5% last year. Cutting staff won't touch content, Netflix's biggest expense. It does bring overheads closer in line with slowing sales, and it gives Sarandos and co-CEO Greg Peters a cost story to tell on October 20. Investors will also want to hear how ads, live events and gaming are meant to pick up the growth.

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