News24 | Netflix Africa content boss laid off as part of global cuts

A senior official working on content in Africa was affected by a global restructuring at Netflix.

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Ben Amadasun, the Netflix vice-president of content for the Middle East and Africa, has been laid off by the streaming giant as part of its global restructuring.

This was first reported by tech news publication MyBroadband. News24 has independently confirmed the report.

Amadasun was based in the Netflix Amsterdam office and had been with the company for over seven years.

Netflix told staff last week that it was laying off around 1 000 employees as part of a restructuring. Reuters reported that this was the biggest retrenchment since 2022 and affected about 6% of the company’s global workforce.

The staff notice reportedly indicated that the bulk of the affected roles would be in Netflix’s product, tech, legal and human resources teams.

Kaye Ann Williams, who also plays an important role in sub-Saharan Africa as the head of scripted content, is not affected by the restructuring.

A well-placed source said that Netflix officials focused on Africa have not been disproportionately affected, and that Amadasun’s layoff should not be interpreted as the company divesting from Africa.

Locally, Netflix recently celebrated 10 years since launching in South Africa.

Broadcast Media Africa recently quoted Williams as saying that the company is commissioning around 15 to 20 South African scripted and non-fiction titles each year, up from around eight to 12 previously.

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