Last week, Netflix announced that it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter, largely thanks to its kicking hundreds of thousands of Russians off of the platform, and that it expects to lose millions more in the coming months. That bad news was not taken well by investors, who sold off the stock and sent its stock price tumbling.
Elon Musk, taking to Twitter to point out the obvious, noted that “the woke mind virus is making Netflix unwatchable.”
The woke mind virus is making Netflix unwatchable
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2022
Indeed, and that was just a continuation of a something that began months ago, when the share price tumbled as Americans and others quit the streaming service in disgust, largely thanks to its woke content, as I reported at the time, saying:
There was “Cuties,” which sexualized children in a disgusting manner. There was Narcos, once a great show, that was turned into a girl boss show in the latest season (because the one thing that comes to mind when you think of drug cartels is the intrepid attitude of female reporters). There are the innumerable historical shows they insert non-white characters into simply to push diversity, with no regard given to historical accuracy.
Now, there’s “Don’t Look Up,” which was created to mock those that don’t think Covid or “climate change” is worth panicking about.
Well, other than canceling Meghan Markle’s woke show about a feminist 12-year-old, the streaming service hasn’t woken up, smelled the roses, and gotten rid of woke content so that it can host content that normal people want to watch.
It has, however, started firing employees, slowing hiring, and even outsourcing jobs following rounds of layoffs. The Hollywood Reporter reported on that, quoting Netflix employees who described the hiring, layoff, and outsourcing situation, saying:
Three individuals in different divisions at Netflix tell The Hollywood Reporter that there has been a noticeable slowdown in recent hiring as teams have had to fight harder to advocate for new hires. (The streamer still has many open listings on its job posting site, however.) “I’ve been told the budget for personnel on my team has to remain flat,” another Netflix insider says. “I don’t know if [top management] actually uses the word ‘hiring freeze.’ I mean, we use it, and we know it’s true. I know other managers have been told the same.”
Sources inside the company also expect layoffs as Netflix continues to outsource some positions — particularly those outside of the U.S. — to third parties to save money. “We underwent a recent round of restructuring and layoffs, and the party line was it was to be more globally focused,” a third Netflix source describes. “We thought that was the end of it [layoffs], and now I’m being told, ‘No, it’s definitely not the end of it.’”
That news follows news that, on Thursday, the platform laid off staffers at Tudum, a fan site that it created five short months ago.
And layoffs aren’t the only pain that Netflix employees are feeling as the streaming giant’s share price plummets.
Apparently, the employees who were retained by the company are feeling the heat too, as their stock options are now worth far less, with one insider telling the Hollywood Reporter that “Everyone is definitely sweating over the options they took when the stock was at its peak.”
The problem is a major one because many employees, seeing the gains they could reap by taking stock option compensation as a percentage of their payment rather than cash, did so and are now regretting it as the share price tumbles.
What that adds up to is a gut-wrenching double whammy for many Netflix employees, employees that now are both seeing their compensation crater with the stock price as they fear getting the pink slip ax.
Looks like the “go woke, go broke” reality is finally hitting Netflix hard.
By: Gen Z Conservative, editor of GenZConservative.com. Follow me on Parler and Gettr.
This story syndicated with permission from Gen Z Conservative