Netflix cuts 1,000 jobs with unscripted casting and development hit

Netflix has cut about 1,000 jobs, around 6% of its workforce, in a round of layoffs that began on 14 October 2026.

The cuts were first reported as under way on 14 October, according to Deadline. Reuters described the round as the company's largest since 2022, while Variety called it the biggest to date. CNBC reported the reductions were largely concentrated in product, technology, human resources and legal teams.

The latest detail shows the cuts also reached programme teams. Deadline reported, citing its understanding, that executives in unscripted casting and development were affected. Unscripted TV covers reality, competition, documentary and talk shows made without a scripted drama or comedy script.

Three unscripted executives named as affected are Amy Cohen, Rich Leist and Annie Roberts.

Cohen was Director, Nonfiction Series, meaning series based on real people and events. She joined Netflix in 2017 after more than a decade at Fox, according to Deadline. Leist was Director of Unscripted Casting. He joined in 2021 from All3Media America and was part of the team with Brittany Grooms and Cesar Rocha that set up Netflix's first in-house casting department that year. Roberts was an unscripted casting executive who joined in 2021 from NBCUniversal.

The cuts went wider than unscripted. Deadline reported impacts across the awards team, product, tech and human resources, as well as scripted television and film. Scripted television means drama and comedy series written by writers.

In scripted, Lisa Lang McMullen, James Oh, Andrew McQuinn and Carolina Garcia were let go. Managers Dan Evans, Jason Pan and Aaron Davidson were also let go.

In film, Doug Belgrad, who was vice president of film, was affected. Sheroum Kim, who was Director of Independent Films, and features manager Sebastian Hernandez were also affected.

For the people behind the shows, this matters because casting and development are where new series start. A smaller team means fewer hands to find contributors, shape formats and move projects from pitch to order.