In brief
Netflix announced on Wednesday, 14 October, cuts of about 1,000 employees, around 6% of its workforce, which the New York Times called its biggest round since 2022.
Ted Sarandos announced in a staff memo on Thursday, 15 October, that chief content officer Bela Bajaria is leaving and that Peter Rice, a former Disney and Fox executive, will take over.
The stock has lost about 23% of its value in 2026, and Sarandos acknowledged in September 2026 that Netflix is not growing as fast as he would like.
- 14 OctNetflix announces cuts of about 1,000 employees, around 6% of its workforce
- 15 OctNetflix announces Bela Bajaria's exit and names Peter Rice chief content officer
- Week of 19 October 2026Peter Rice is due to take over the chief content officer role
A new chief content officer
Netflix is replacing chief content officer Bela Bajaria with Peter Rice, a former executive at Disney and Fox. The change was set out in a memo to staff on Thursday, 15 October, in which co-CEO Ted Sarandos thanked Bajaria for her decade with the company. The New York Times reported that Bajaria is leaving immediately and that Rice will take over the role in the week of 19 October. Irish Times describes Rice as a former chairman of general entertainment at Walt Disney Company and earlier president of 21st Century Fox. Bajaria, who joined Netflix in 2016, expanded its unscripted programming, live events and sports, and brought WWE's weekly show Raw to the service.
“I want to thank Bela for a decade of dedication, innovation, creativity and leadership.”
Sarandos also credited her with building a global slate of films and series alongside those new formats.
Layoffs and slower growth
On Wednesday, 14 October, Netflix said it would cut about 1,000 employees, around 6% of its workforce. The New York Times called it the company's biggest round of job cuts since 2022, while Vulture reported that the largest reductions hit technology, legal and human resources. Sarandos acknowledged at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles in September 2026 that the company is not growing as fast as he would like. Netflix has not published subscriber figures since last year, though Irish Times and Handelsblatt put its base at more than 325 million worldwide. The stock has lost about 23% of its value so far in 2026, according to the Irish Times. Netflix's programming budget of roughly $20 billion goes mostly to films, series and video games, according to Handelsblatt.
Performance and the Warner Bros. bid
Recent Netflix series have seen audiences shrink in their second seasons, according to Irish Times and Handelsblatt, and NRC notes the company has struggled to produce big hits like the earlier Stranger Things and Wednesday. At the 2026 Emmy Awards Netflix won 16 awards, its lowest total in a decade, against 30 in 2025 and a record 44 in 2021, according to EL PAÍS. Earlier in 2026 Netflix tried to buy the studios and streaming business of Warner Bros. Discovery, but lost the bidding to Paramount Skydance. Paramount Skydance is buying Warner in a deal valued at $110 billion, which NRC describes as one of the largest media mergers of all time.
- 2021
- 44 awards
- 2025
- 30 awards
- 2026
- 16 awards
Data from the article text
Analyst view and what comes next
Alicia Reese, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, told Handelsblatt by email that losing Bajaria is a significant break, while Rice enjoys a very good reputation in the industry. According to Reese, Rice's experience at Fox and Disney fits the shift from a pure streaming service toward a broader platform with more varied programming. She also suggested his background in combining Fox's entertainment operations with Disney could point to further acquisitions, such as NBCUniversal once it becomes available. Rice is due to take over in the week of 19 October, and his mandate covers scripted and unscripted series, film and live events across all regions, according to the Irish Times.