Netflix Ousts Content Chief Bela Bajaria After 1,000 Job Cuts
Netflix has ousted chief content officer Bela Bajaria, the executive in charge of what shows and films get made, after 10 years in the role.
Her exit was reported on 15 October 2026, just 24 hours after the company laid off around 1,000 employees, according to Deadline. Her decade-long tenure was confirmed by Media Play News.
Netflix has named Peter Rice as chief content officer, effective 15 October 2026, according to Deadline. Rice previously worked at Disney and 21st Century Fox, according to Variety.
The job cuts are large by Netflix standards. Variety described the reduction of around 1,000 staff, or 6% of the workforce, as the company's biggest cutback to date, while Reuters described it as the biggest since 2022. Staff were told through an internal memo, Reuters and CNBC reported.
Most of the cuts fell in product, technology, human resources and legal roles, CNBC reported. But creative teams were affected too.
TV executives Carolina Garcia, James Oh and Lisa Lang McMullen were laid off, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Garcia, a director on the original series team, had been at the company for 10 years. Film vice president Doug Belgrad was also let go, according to Variety.
The cuts had been trailed in advance. Puck News first reported that Netflix planned to cut about 5% of its workforce, and Reuters carried that report on 9 October 2026, according to Reuters.
Why cut now? Variety, in a 16 October analysis, pointed to slower growth in the organisation's largest market. Revenue growth in the United States and Canada was 10% in the second quarter of 2026, down from 14% in the prior quarter. Netflix also issued revenue guidance for the third quarter below analyst expectations.
The same report said Netflix aimed to lift its operating margin, meaning profit kept from each dollar of sales, by 200 basis points to 31.5%. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point, so that is a rise of two percentage points. Netflix projected revenue growth of 13% to 14% for the current year. Its shares were down 20% year-to-date at the time of reporting.
That pressure sits alongside large headline numbers. Netflix revenue grew 16% to $46.6 billion in 2025, with a net profit of $11 billion, Variety reported. As of 30 June, it held $9.1 billion in cash and equivalents against $14.4 billion in total debt. The Los Angeles Times noted the layoff followed a near-purchase of Warner Bros., according to the Los Angeles Times.
For viewers, this means change at the top rather than an immediate change on screen. Shows already ordered and in production keep their crews and schedules. The question is what Rice commissions next, and what gets renewed or stopped under a new content chief.
