Netflix plans to cut its spending by US$300 million (nearly Rs.2,465 billion) this year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Company leaders urged employees to be prudent with their spending, including on hiring, but said there would be no hiring freeze or further layoffs, the company said report.
Netflix declined to comment. The company’s shares lost almost 2 percent in early trading.
Last month, Netflix beat estimates for the first quarter but issued weaker-than-expected guidance, highlighting the challenges the company faces in its pursuit of growth.
The company said it has delayed a broader rollout of a plan to combat unauthorized password sharing to the second quarter to make improvements.
As the streaming video pioneer faces signs of market saturation, it’s exploring new ways to make money, such as password crackdowns and a new ad-supported service.
Netflix also laid off 300 employees, or about 4 percent of its workforce, in June as part of its second round of job cuts to cut costs.
The company is also in trouble in India as the government there seeks to tax the OTT platform on revenue from streaming services in the country, the Economic Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
In a draft regulation, the income tax authorities have attributed an income of about Rs. Rs 550 million to Netflix’s Indian PE (PE) in the 2021-22 assessment year, the report added.
Tax officials justified this by saying that the US company relocated some employees and infrastructure from the parent company to India to support its streaming services, resulting in a PE and tax liability, the publication reported.
