Netflix Inc. lays off 300 employees in efforts to lower costs

Netflix is considering adding advertising to the service for a lower-priced subscription

Netflix Inc. lay off 300 of its employees in the second round of job cuts aimed at lowering costs. The move comes in the wake of the streaming giant losing a large chunk of its subscribers for the first time in over a decade. The layoff has mostly affected its workforce in the U.S. The company cut 150 jobs last month. The cuts amounted to about 4% of the company’s workforce losing their jobs. Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers globally at the start of 2022 and projected a decline of 2 million users in the upcoming quarter. The drop in the subscribers is due to factors ranging from the current economy, increased competition, the war in Ukraine, and a large number of subscribers who share their accounts with non-paying households.

To offset the loss of subscribers, Netflix is also considering adding advertising to the service in return for a lower-priced subscription in addition to cutting costs, a move it had long resisted. Media reports from earlier this week said it was in talks with Alphabet’s Google and Comcast’s NBCUniversal for potential marketing tie-ups. The onslaught of other revamped streaming platforms such as Disney+, Paramount Global’s Paramount+, and Warner Bros is also taking a toll on Netflix.