May 17 (UPI) — Netflix laid off 150 employees Tuesday as the streaming giant faces subscriber losses, slower revenue growth and a shareholder lawsuit.
Most of the layoffs were in the United States and represent 2% of Netflix’s workforce.
Besides losing 200,000 paid subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, Netflix blamed the layoffs on slower revenue growth.
“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,” said a Netflix spokesperson.
The company said impacted staffers should receive severance packages starting at four months or longer, depending on their position and length of service. The new round of layoffs comes less than a month after Netflix laid off 25 full-time employees in the company’s editorial and marketing departments.
Netflix shares plunged in April after the company’s earnings report revealed it had lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade. Netflix lost 700,000 subscribers in Russia after pulling out of the country over its invasion of Ukraine, but added 500,000 subscribers worldwide. Netflix is expected to lose an additional 2-million subscribers during the second quarter.
Netflix is also in the middle of a shareholder lawsuit that sank the streamer’s stock prices by 25% last month. The suit claims Netflix misled investors about subscriber loss.
Netflix has blamed its slowing growth on users sharing passwords, and has taken steps this year to crack down on the practice.
“Our relatively high household penetration — when including the large number of households sharing accounts — combined with competition, is creating revenue growth headwinds,” Netflix previously said in its quarterly letter to shareholders.
Netflix is one of a number of companies, including Twitter and Peloton, that saw big gains at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, but have struggled to maintain the momentum.
