Netflix Makes Major Layoffs, Are They Changing Their Content Strategy?

Alex Sapot spent more than seven years working for Netflix before being laid off in the most recent cuts. In her time with the company, she was behind overall deals, including a contract with Kalinda Vazquez. 

Vazquez is a television writer and producer who worked on Star Trek: Discovery and Fear The Walking Dead. She was also involved in commissioning Sex Education and The End of the F***ing World. 

Pete Corona worked for Netflix for more than five years, and he was a big part of infusing Afro-Latino and Indigenous-Latino filmmakers into business with the streaming giant.

He previously held a position working with Marvel. Corona had a role in the creation of series such as FUBAR, Resident Evil, and Haunting of Bly Manor.

Netflix’s Director of Overall Deals is also no longer with the company after more than seven years of allegiance. She championed Queen’s Gambit and was responsible for signing deals with Mike Flanagan and Leah Fong to overall deals.

Together the two gave Netflix the benefit of series such as The Haunting of Hill House and The Midnight Club. 

It will be interesting to see what Netflix is going to do in the way of drama in the future. The company either has a radical plan to reshape its content strategy or they’re really working on hoarding all the extra dough they’re pulling in this year. 

Even in the midst of the SAG-AFTRA strikes, Netflix has still had a record-breaking final quarter for the year. The streamer added 9 million subscribers to its collection in the wake of the crackdown on password sharing, and they’re still planning another round of price hikes to go into effect soon. 

Netflix’s most recent roster cuts are in addition to a much larger layoff back in May of this year (2023) when they dropped around 150 executives. Just one month later, in June, there were an additional 300 layoffs at the company. 

Netflix isn’t the only media company making big cuts. Amazon, Warner Bros, Discovery, Disney, ESPN, Paramount, Spotify, and Roku have all also made significant layoffs in the past year. It’s now very clear that the entertainment industry is beginning to really feel the pain of the Hollywood strikes.

Television and movie viewers are also starting to see a real impact on what content is available for screening. Some big money-makers for Netflix have recently been sidelined. 

For instance, Stranger Things hasn’t released a new season (the final season, in fact) of the show in more than a year. The fifth season of the show was scheduled to begin filming in June of 2023 but remains on hold due to the strikes. Fans of the show may have to wait until well into 2024 to have a chance to view the final season of the popular series. 

Regardless, Netflix has definitely drawn eyes of speculation to its ever-changing business model with its latest layoffs. What are they really up to up there in their corporate offices?

It will be interesting to see how these big moves ultimately play out at the streamer.