Netflix lays off 150 employees in cutback after drop in subscribers

Netflix  Inc. said Tuesday it’s laying off about 150 employees, fallout from the surprising drop in customers the streaming company reported last month.

“Our slowing revenue growth means we are also having to slow our cost growth as a company,” Netflix said in an emailed statement. “So sadly, we are letting around 150 employees go today, mostly US-based.”

The firings follow the unexpected loss of 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter and a forecast for the loss of another 2 million this period. At the end of last month, Netflix laid off a number of employees at Tudum, a website that promotes movies and TV shows for the streaming service, as part of a broader restructuring of its marketing department.

Shares of Netflix gained as much as 2.6% to $191.40 in New York. The stock has declined more than 70% from its intraday high of $700.99 in November 2021.

Los Gatos, California-based Netflix employed more than 11,000 people at year-end, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The website Deadline reported on the job cuts earlier Tuesday.