Netflix lays off Tudum staffers
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On Thursday, Netflix laid off staff from Tudum, a fan-centric editorial website it launched in December.
Why it matters: Netflix is in the midst of a crisis of investor confidence following its earnings report of stalled subscriber growth. The streaming service warned it would soon begin to cut back on its spending.
Details: While Netflix wouldn't confirm an exact number with Axios, multiple reports state that the cuts affected "at least" ten staffers.
- "Our fan website Tudum is an important priority for the company," a Netflix spokesperson told Axios.
Catch up quick: Tudum launched in December as a way to appeal to superfans of its popular series like "Bridgerton," "Stranger Things" and "Love is Blind."
- The streaming giant had previously launched a hiring spree to recruit numerous entertainment journalists.
Between the lines: The staff for Tudum was situated inside Netflix's marketing division, which underwent a leadership transition after former CMO Bozama Saint John departed in March. She was ultimately replaced by Marian Lee.
- The cuts were part of broader restructuring in the marketing division, Bloomberg reports.
- Tudum's editors were full-time, but its writing staff of about a dozen — many of which were women and people of color — were brought in by a contractor, though they were considered W-2 employees.
What they're saying: At least eight writers, including an editorial manager, tweeted that they were laid off Thursday.
- "So. I got laid off from Netflix/Tudum today. Media is gonna media even when it's not technically media, I guess," wrote Alex Zaragoza in a thread. "Aggressively courting journalists (esp POC). Throwing money at us. Telling us this is gonna be different and stable. We'll be set up for success. Then months later pulling the rug out from underneath us. I should've known better than to trust anything with 'doom' in its name"
- Another staffer, Evette Dionne, wrote: "Netflix recruited me seven months ago only to lay me and a bunch of other talented people off today. I’m going to take time off to just exist, so please get in touch if you’ll have editing and content strategy opportunities open after August."
