Netflix Lays Off 150 People, Mostly In US

(RTTNews) - Online streaming platform Netflix Inc. (NFLX) is laying off people from its organization. The company is laying off around 150 people and the process is already off.

The laid off positions are people based in the US in positions across both films and TV in creative, sources said. There are also rumors that the indie film division will be laid off but sources internally say that is not the case.

Commenting on the developments, a company spokesperson said, "As we explained on earnings, our slowing revenue growth means we are also having to slow our cost growth as a company. So sadly, we are letting around 150 employees go today, mostly US-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. We're working hard to support them through this very difficult transition".

This layoff was not something surprising and had been expected. Netflix's stock has fallen sharply after the streamer reported last month that its global subscriber base declined by 200,000 in the first quarter.

The Street also had expected more from the streaming giant in term of revenue, with a consensus among analysts calling for $7.93 billion. Netflix reported $7.868 billion in revenue in the first quarter, up less than 10% from a year ago.

In its quarterly letter to the shareholders, Netflix said, "Our revenue growth has slowed considerably as our results and forecast below show. Streaming is winning over linear, as we predicted, and Netflix titles are very popular globally. However, our relatively high household penetration - when including the large number of households sharing accounts - combined with competition, is creating revenue growth headwinds."