Netflix fired about 2% of its workforce on Tuesday as a cost-cutting move after growth came to a standstill for the once-thriving streaming platform. 

“These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough, as none of us want to say goodbye to such great colleagues,” a spokesperson told AFP. 

The spokesperson revealed that among the 150 employees that were sacked, most of them hail from the United States, adding that the company also reduced its expenditure on contractors.

This comes just weeks after the company revealed that it observed a massive dip in subscribers for the first time in over ten years.

“As we explained [in reporting Q1] earnings, our slowing revenue growth means we are also having to slow our cost growth as a company,” the spokesperson said.

“So sadly, we are letting around 150 employees go today, mostly US-based. These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough as none of us want to say goodbye to such great colleagues. We’re working hard to support them through this very difficult transition,” the spokesperson added.

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Netflix concluded the first quarter of 2022 with a subscriber count of 221.6 million, which is a slight downtick compared to the final quarter of 2021.

The company attributed the dip to the suspension of its operations in Russia due to the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

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Another reason hampering the platform’s growth is its strong competitors, such as Disney and Apple.

Netflix also credits the problem to subscribers who are sharing their accounts with those who do not pay the subscription price.

An estimate by the company reveals that about 222 million households pay the subscription fees, but the accounts of those subscribers are used by over 100 million other non-paying households.