Netflix Cuts 150 More Jobs After Last Month’s Historic Subscriber Losses

Around 150 full-time Netflix employees, plus even more animation studio workers and a swathe of freelancers, found out that they were being terminated from the company as the streamer faces significant hits to earnings.

Many of the over 60 freelance contractors let go by Netflix were primarily working for their social media editorial arms that supported the streamer’s diverse programming. These were Strong Black Lead, Golden, Con Todo, and Most, which are about black, Latinx, Asian and LGBTQ content on the streamer respectively.

Netflix has also been slashing its animation department with several anticipated series getting suddenly cut before even seeing the light of day. These include Wings Of Fire from executive producer Ava DuVernay and the children’s series Antiracist Baby based on the book of the same name.

Planned adaptations of the graphic novel Bone and the Roald Dahl classic The Twits were also axed, showing even strong existing IP can’t save these shows. Phil Rynda, who had been overseeing this new slate of animation development as Director of Creative Leadership and Development for Original Animation, was laid off along with several staff members in late April before these cancellations.

When Netflix reported its earnings last month, it was first revealed that it had lost about 200,000 subscribers for the first time in a decade. They also expect to lose more in the next quarter as they have shut down their streaming services in Russia due to their invasion of Ukraine. Other cost-cutting measures coming down the pipe could include a crackdown on password sharing and an ad-supported subscription.

Netflix had already let go over 20 employees of their in-house fan website Tudum last month when their dropped earnings were already reported. Unfortunately, more layoffs could be on the horizon as an email from the company’s Global Head of HR, Sergio Ezama sent to staff said remaining employees should, “sadly expect some more departures in the coming months.”