Netflix to lay off 1,000 staff amid intensifying competition for user attention

Netflix is laying off about 6% of its employee base, or close to 1,000 staff, the company confirmed to TechCrunch.

The streaming giant said most of the cuts would affect its product, tech, legal, and human resources departments. The company said it will “continue to invest aggressively in high impact areas” to improve its service, and stated it is on track to deliver its full-year forecast.

Netflix had 16,000 full-time employees as of the end of last year, according to its annual filing with regulators.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news, citing an internal memo sent to employees.

“Our mission—to entertain the world—is ambitious, and delivering on it requires us to be disciplined about where we prioritize our people and resources,” the Journal cited the company’s co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters as writing in the memo.

The layoffs come in the wake of a protracted bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery’s streaming and studio businesses that Netflix lost to Paramount Skydance earlier this year. Netflix ostensibly saw great potential in Warner Bros’ assets, which include its studios, HBO, streaming platforms, games, and TV networks such as CNN and HGTV.

Long the dominant TV app, Netflix has in recent years faced intensifying competition from the likes of YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and social apps to attract and keep users’ eyes. According to reports from various market research firms, social apps like TikTok are catching up to Netflix when it comes to user engagement, and YouTube is said to have surpassed Netflix in average daily viewing in 2025.

The streaming giant has been trying extensively to extract more value from its subscribers, raising prices, expanding its ad-supported tier, and investing in live events and sports, gaming and children’s programming to increase user engagement.

It’s also bet on AI-supported features, gaming, video podcasts, and has dabbled in short-form video content alongside redesigning its mobile app to compete for users’ attention with social media platforms.

In 2025, Netflix reported revenue of $45.2 billion, and said ad revenue had risen to over $1.5 billion.

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Ram is a financial and tech reporter and editor. He covered North American and European M&A, equity, regulatory news and debt markets at Reuters and Acuris Global, and has also written about travel, tourism, entertainment and books.

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