Netflix‘s film VP Doug Belgrad has been let go amid a massive restructuring at the streamer.
Netflix is laying off around 1,000 employees, around 6% of its workforce, in what marks the company’s largest axing to date. Most of the cuts will effect employees on the product, technology, legal and HR teams, co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters told the staff on Wednesday morning.
Sheroum Kim, who served as Netflix’s director of film and worked on lower-budgeted releases like Sunny Sandler’s “Don’t Say Good Luck,” has also been let go, Variety has confirmed.
“Decisions like these are never easy, and we don’t take them lightly. Our top priority today is to support those who are leaving Netflix,” the co-CEOs said in the memo, which didn’t name any of the departing employees. “The process will vary somewhat by country, but leaders will be connecting with impacted employees soon. If you are leaving, please know that we will support you throughout this transition and make sure you have as much clarity and context as possible. We also want to say thank you. What you’ve built, and the care you brought to Netflix, have made a lasting difference and we will always be grateful.”
Belgrad was hired in May 2024 and marked the first major executive appointment by film chairman Dan Lin after he succeeded Scott Stuber. Belgrad was responsible for managing Netflix’s slate of originals, including Ben Affleck’s recent crime thriller “Animals,” Affleck and Matt Damon’s “The Rip,” Adam Sandler’s “Happy Gilmore 2” and “Grown Ups 3,” the Sally Fields-led adaptation “Remarkably Bright Creatures” and “War Machine” with Alan Ritchson and Dennis Quaid.
Before joining the streamer, Belgrad was an executive at Sony for over 25 years and rose to the title of president of the Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group. Belgrad remains chairman of 2.0 Entertainment, which is an active producer on projects such as “Unabomber” and “The Pope’s Exorcist” sequel and co-financier with Sony and Paramount on movies like “Heart of the Beast,” Primate,” “Children of Blood and Bone.”
Netflix’s last major layoffs were in 2022, when about 450 staffers were let go after a rough quarter at the streamer. Earlier this year, the company pink slipped several dozen members of its global product team.
