Layoffs are running rampant at Netflix‘s editorial division, Tudum, amid the streaming service’s declining subscribership, with several writers being shown the door.
Murmurs about the layoffs were first rumbling on Twitter Thursday, but now more official reports have surfaced. The layoffs have all occurred under Tudum, and includes at least 10 full-time staff and contractors, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Tudum is an editorial fan website launched late last year as part of Netflix’s marketing division. According to the report, the news of the layoffs was relayed to the publication via an unnamed source with knowledge of the matter.
A Netflix spokesperson was also cited as releasing a statement to THR, saying they consider Tudum to be “an important priority for the company.”
When Tudum launched in December, the streaming service hired a number of revered entertainment journalists and writers to flesh out its editorial expansion.
Many of the now-canned employees took to Twitter Thursday to ring in the unfortunate news.
“Is anyone hiring? Netflix just laid off my team (my job included),” Josh Terry wrote in one post. “It was an incredible few months and I’m grateful for it but I’m stoked about whatever’s next.”
“Media is gonna media even when it’s not technically media, I guess,” wrote Alex Zaragoza, another laid-off employee.
“A bunch of my incredible colleagues got laid off, too. You’d be incredibly lucky to work with any of them,” wrote Reina Sultan.
The report of layoffs comes after Netflix reported last week that it lost 200,000 subscribers during the first quarter of this year. That represents the first loss of subscribers with the company since 2011, with two million more expected losses projected for the second quarter of 2022, the New York Post reports.
