7 ms·

Netflix lays off 300 additional staff

57 points by t3rabytes 4y ago

mads 4y ago
My credit card expired last month and I forgot to update Netflix with the new one. They remind me every time I open Netflix, but I haven't bothered to update it, since there is nothing I really want to watch myself, but mostly because nobody in my family has complained yet.
- jahnu 4y ago
  As soon as Better Call Saul is finished I really don’t know what’s going to keep me there.
  - listenallyall 4y ago
    BCS is on AMC. Easier, cheaper and live on their app vs Netflix
    - jahnu 4y ago
      In Austria so unfortunately don’t have all the streaming options. glares at HBO
- aluminussoma 4y ago
  Netflix has the ability to automatically update the card number after it expires. It is a service that certain credit card issuers offer. These days, I would not count on an expiring credit card to automatically cancel services.
ssiddharth 4y ago
Any idea which departments the 300 being let go are from? Would be interesting, in a rather morbid sense…
- GekkePrutser 4y ago
  It could also tell us customers a bit about what kind of impact to expect from this. Content -wise if it's buyers. Or reliability wise if it's tech people.
  - onphonenow 4y ago
    There were claims that the last round significantly impacted folks working on some critical intersectional across race / ethnicity / gender identity type programming. There were some articles about the layoffs last time and the major backlash that resulted. Protocol covered this, noting "Protocol identified at least 40 people from marginalized backgrounds who lost their jobs in the latest round of cuts." Interestingly, as I read this Meta announcement a settlement on similar discrimination claims: "Discrimination in housing, employment and credit is a deep-rooted problem with a long history in the US, and we are committed to broadening opportunities for marginalized communities in these spaces and others," Roy Austin Jr., Meta's vice president of civil rights, wrote in a blog post.
    - gamblor956 4y ago
      It was people working for marketing related to gender- and race-based programming that Netflix also mostly dropped in the past year when it decided to shift from targeting niche audiences to going for the pure-blockbuster play (i.e., from Babysitters Club to Squid Game).
      - onphonenow 4y ago
        I took a look at netflix's top 20 or so shows on their feed. Pretty eye opening in terms of what is getting watched, even down out of the top 10 or so.
      - morelisp 4y ago
        > targeting niche audiences to going for the pure-blockbuster play (i.e., from Babysitters Club to Squid Game). Well played.
yrgulation 4y ago
Hopefully they spend more resources on better content. I personally find many netflix originals to be template series not worth watching unless you stretch your imagination well beyond sanity and suspend disbelief with the aid of some kind of medication. Having said that, in my experience their app and streaming quality is just perfect. Unlike hbo’s. It would be a shame if these layoffs would be among tech departments because i imagine their engineering is awesome. As a bonus i read somewhere that they use freebsd and that’s a huge plus in my books. Shows that they understand tech well beyond the basics.
- sumy23 4y ago
  We might simply be at peak content. Better content requires better talent. The pool of talent is finite. Perhaps there aren't enough talented writers and producers to make better content happen.
  - bergenty 4y ago
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - pstuart 4y ago
      I don't think everyone feels the same way you do about women.
      - bergenty 4y ago
        I don’t think anyone likes to be force fed content that instantly breaks immersion because it doesn’t mirror reality at all.
        marssaxman 4y ago
        If that's your perception of reality, perhaps it's good that you're being pushed out of your comfort zone.
cheriot 4y ago
The Verge article is a summary of this one: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/netflix-cuts-300-employees-in-new-round-of-layoffs-1235157991/ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/netflix-c...
acd 4y ago
Exponential forever growth in startups was false.
randomopining 4y ago
Most of the stuff they pump out is just nauseating. I don't blame them though, they will make a show about whatever current event or cultural item possible. People are mostly at home surfing on their phone with some background low grade show on netflix, puffing a nic stic or sipping a craft beer. It doesn't take much for people to keep paying the 20 bucks a month or whatever it is now. "Cheaper than a meal for 2 at mcdonalds"

57 points by t3rabytes 4y ago

mads 4y ago

My credit card expired last month and I forgot to update Netflix with the new one. They remind me every time I open Netflix, but I haven't bothered to update it, since there is nothing I really want to watch myself, but mostly because nobody in my family has complained yet.

jahnu 4y ago
As soon as Better Call Saul is finished I really don’t know what’s going to keep me there.
- listenallyall 4y ago
  BCS is on AMC. Easier, cheaper and live on their app vs Netflix
  - jahnu 4y ago
    In Austria so unfortunately don’t have all the streaming options. glares at HBO
aluminussoma 4y ago
Netflix has the ability to automatically update the card number after it expires. It is a service that certain credit card issuers offer. These days, I would not count on an expiring credit card to automatically cancel services.

ssiddharth 4y ago

Any idea which departments the 300 being let go are from? Would be interesting, in a rather morbid sense…

GekkePrutser 4y ago
It could also tell us customers a bit about what kind of impact to expect from this. Content -wise if it's buyers. Or reliability wise if it's tech people.
- onphonenow 4y ago
  There were claims that the last round significantly impacted folks working on some critical intersectional across race / ethnicity / gender identity type programming. There were some articles about the layoffs last time and the major backlash that resulted. Protocol covered this, noting "Protocol identified at least 40 people from marginalized backgrounds who lost their jobs in the latest round of cuts." Interestingly, as I read this Meta announcement a settlement on similar discrimination claims: "Discrimination in housing, employment and credit is a deep-rooted problem with a long history in the US, and we are committed to broadening opportunities for marginalized communities in these spaces and others," Roy Austin Jr., Meta's vice president of civil rights, wrote in a blog post.
  - gamblor956 4y ago
    It was people working for marketing related to gender- and race-based programming that Netflix also mostly dropped in the past year when it decided to shift from targeting niche audiences to going for the pure-blockbuster play (i.e., from Babysitters Club to Squid Game).
    - onphonenow 4y ago
      I took a look at netflix's top 20 or so shows on their feed. Pretty eye opening in terms of what is getting watched, even down out of the top 10 or so.
    - morelisp 4y ago
      > targeting niche audiences to going for the pure-blockbuster play (i.e., from Babysitters Club to Squid Game). Well played.

yrgulation 4y ago

Hopefully they spend more resources on better content. I personally find many netflix originals to be template series not worth watching unless you stretch your imagination well beyond sanity and suspend disbelief with the aid of some kind of medication. Having said that, in my experience their app and streaming quality is just perfect. Unlike hbo’s. It would be a shame if these layoffs would be among tech departments because i imagine their engineering is awesome. As a bonus i read somewhere that they use freebsd and that’s a huge plus in my books. Shows that they understand tech well beyond the basics.

sumy23 4y ago
We might simply be at peak content. Better content requires better talent. The pool of talent is finite. Perhaps there aren't enough talented writers and producers to make better content happen.
- bergenty 4y ago
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - pstuart 4y ago
    I don't think everyone feels the same way you do about women.
    - bergenty 4y ago
      I don’t think anyone likes to be force fed content that instantly breaks immersion because it doesn’t mirror reality at all.
      - marssaxman 4y ago
        If that's your perception of reality, perhaps it's good that you're being pushed out of your comfort zone.

cheriot 4y ago

The Verge article is a summary of this one: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/netflix-cuts-300-employees-in-new-round-of-layoffs-1235157991/ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/netflix-c...

acd 4y ago

Exponential forever growth in startups was false.

randomopining 4y ago

Most of the stuff they pump out is just nauseating. I don't blame them though, they will make a show about whatever current event or cultural item possible. People are mostly at home surfing on their phone with some background low grade show on netflix, puffing a nic stic or sipping a craft beer. It doesn't take much for people to keep paying the 20 bucks a month or whatever it is now. "Cheaper than a meal for 2 at mcdonalds"