Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters addresses staff after layoffs
The remarks come less than two weeks after the streaming giant cut nearly 1,000 jobs and fired two of its most senior content executives. The layoffs were announced on October 14 in a memo from Peters and co-CEO Ted Sarandos. They cover about 6% of the workforce, with product, technology, legal and human resources teams hit hardest. Netflix had around 16,000 full-time employees at the end of 2025. The same afternoon, Sarandos called chief content officer Bela Bajaria into his office around 4:30 pm. Bajaria, who spent a decade at the company, skipped the Season 3 premiere of Nobody Wants This that evening and never went back to a Netflix office, Bloomberg reports. Netflix is still growing at double digits and is on pace for about $15 billion in profit this year, per Bloomberg. In its shareholder letter, Netflix said members watched over 97 billion hours in the first half of 2026, only 2% more than a year earlier.
Because of a weak forecast for the end of the year, netflix shares fell 6.6% last week, largely. The company also won its fewest Emmys in a decade.
Speaking at a staff town hall this week, Peters said “two things can be true,” according to a Bloomberg report. He told her she was out, and that former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice would take over her role. Sarandos told analysts that Rice understands talent relations. Long-time partners like the Duffer Brothers and Shawn Levy have moved to other studios, while David Fincher chose not to renew his deal, according to Bloomberg. Morgan Stanley praised the company for acting decisively, while Pivotal Research said its concerns remain unchanged. Investors, though, will be waiting for the growth he says Netflix still has to find to show up in the next set of numbers.
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters has a message for employees after a rough October: the company is doing well, and it also needs to do better. He described Netflix as a growing, profitable business that rivals would envy, but admitted there is more work to do to push growth further. Bloomberg calls it Netflix’s biggest round of job cuts and executive turmoil in five years. Film chief Dan Lin was dismissed two days later. Talent appears to be the sticking point. On paper, the business looks healthy. Viewing is the problem. Subscribers are watching on fewer days each month and spending less time on the service overall. Wall Street is split. Peters’ town hall message may settle nerves inside the office. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.