Netflix lays off another 300 employees

After laying off 150 employees just last month, Netflix has now made more cuts.

The news comes only a month after 150 employees were let go, with news that Netflix had lost subscribers for the first time ever. The streamer said they were expecting more people to unsubscribe in the coming months, but the news of more layoffs are still devastating. 

The laid off employees represent 4% of Netflix’s workforce. Netflix has also been considering introducing adverts as its subscription numbers dwindle after the pandemic and in the midst of the rise of the cost of living, which is causing people to drop their streaming subscriptions. 

Despite having to lay off staff, Netflix is still investing big in its programs. Season 1 of Is It Cake?, a baking competition, premiered earlier this year. The season was won by Andrew Fuller, but before the grand finale where the top prize was $50 000, Fuller had already won $30,000, taking his total winnings to $80,000. Other contestants had also already won substantial amounts of money in previous rounds. 

Squid Game, Netflix

Netflix quickly renewed the series for another season as well as announcing a reality competition show of its Korean hit show Squid Game. Squid Game: The Challenge will feature 456 contestants battling out for a mammoth prize of $4.56 million, or £3.8 million in our currency. 

Squid Game followed down-on-their-luck contestants who were stuck in a twisted, sadistic set of children’s games in order to win a cash prize that would aid their financial issues. Fans have accused Netflix of completely missing the point of the series by greenlighting a reality show based on it. 

Netflix seems to have cash to spare for these immense cash prizes as well as its flagship fiction programmes. It was widely reported that Netflix spent a whopping $30 million per episode on the latest season of Stranger Things, which will conclude on Friday, July 1. 

There’s no official word or date for when Netflix might introduce a tier with adverts to help it recuperate some of its losses, but it remains to be seen if there will be more layoffs for the streaming giant.