The company said in an official statement that decision is based on business needs and not on performance of an individual. They also added that they will help laid off employees in these difficult times.

The layoffs came as Netflix revealed its first subscriber drop in over a decade and predicted much more in the following quarter. Customers were lost as a result of the turmoil in Ukraine and strong rivalry, according to the report. Netflix said it will create a lower, ad-supported tier and scrutinize its expenditure as a result of its slowing growth. With that they want to calm down the investors and make the situation better.

Netflix also announced earlier that they will start charging for shared accounts, that are not in the same household. Testing of this is already underway in South America and will work on principle of charging the account holder bigger subscription for sharing it.

Performance of Netflix in last five years. (Source: Trading Economics)

Sources:

https://tradingeconomics.com/nflx:us

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/netflix-lays-off-approximately-150-mostly-in-us-2826714

https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/world/story/netflix-lays-off-150-employees-mostly-in-us-amid-slowing-growth-334010-2022-05-18

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/17/netflix-lays-off-150-employees-as-the-streaming-service-contends-with-big-subscriber-losses.html