Netflix cuts about a thousand employees — largest wave since 2022

Why does the company need 'discipline'?

In their letter, Sarandos and Peters explained the decision's logic as the need to set priorities and 'distribute resources more disciplinedly.' The wording is corporate-restrained, but the meaning is transparent: the company is redistributing its budget and cutting what it deems redundant.

For Netflix, this is the second major wave. The previous one came in 2022, when the service for the first time in its history showed subscriber churn and began a massive business overhaul — including the launch of ad-supported tiers and a crackdown on password sharing.

Simply put: Netflix is tightening its belt again to keep growing.

Not just Netflix

The streaming giant isn't alone. Earlier it became known that Xbox — Microsoft's gaming arm — plans to cut 3,200 employees by 2027, or 20% of its workforce. The share is impressively larger than Netflix's 6%.

Big layoff numbers are returning to the tech sector in waves. Netflix is cutting selectively so far, Microsoft — more radically.

What does this mean for the industry?

The signal for the B2B market is mixed. On one side, Netflix remains the biggest player: 325 million users and leadership in subscription video are still in place. On the other, even leaders are moving toward tight cost control.

For contractors, technology vendors, and the labor market, this means smaller budgets and longer approval processes. Systematic optimization instead of expansion.

The bottom line: 6% of staff, four affected areas, scale — maximum since 2022. The market is waiting for the next signals.