Netflix confirmed that it laid off approximately 150 mostly U.S.-based workers, with the streaming company directly tying the job cuts to its decelerating revenue growth.
“As we explained on earnings, our slowing revenue growth means we are also having to slow our cost growth as a company," Netflix said in a statement to Deadline, which broke the news. "So sadly, we are letting around 150 employees go today, mostly U.S.-based. 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. We’re working hard to support them through this very difficult transition."
According to Deadline, the job cuts included some employees in the executive ranks tied to original series production.
The layoffs represent only around 1.3% of Netflix's global workforce of around 11,000 staffers.
On April 19, Netflix stock dropped 35% in after-hours trading, after the company reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers globally in the first quarter, as well as marked deceleration in revenue growth.
At the time, Netflix also said that it predicted continued subscriber recession -- a loss of another 2 million subscribers is projected for Q2. CFO Spence Neumann said the company would be "pulling back on some of our spend growth across both content and non-content."
Earlier this month, Netflix laid off 25 editorial staffers tied to its recently launched arts and culture blog Tudum.
There had been some indicators that Netflix, which is projected to spend around $17 billion on content this year, might continue business as usual. Also on Tuesday morning, for example, it was reported that the company is spending $350 million to re-up its deal with its go-to visual effects house, DNEG.
But there have also been other signals that a pause is occurring. For example, Netflix's just-revised "Culture Memo" now includes language about spending company funds responsibly. ■
