Netflix has cut several of its biggest projects in development as it continues its epic series of cost-cutting measures.
Variety reports that the streaming giant has ended a string of anime series, the most prominent of which is Wings Of Fire, which was overseen by Selma's Ava DuVernay.
Wings Of Fire, which Netflix has been working on with DuVernay since 2020, is based on the book series by Tui T. Sutherland and was supposed to have 10, 40-minute episodes. The story follows an epic war between tribes of dragons that inhabit the mysterious world of Pyrrhia.
In addition to Wings Of Fire, the streaming service also removed Antiracist Baby, an animated series aimed at very young children, and With Kind Regards From Kindergarten, which was a movie aimed at the same demographic.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You, a companion piece to Netflix's hybrid documentary and scripted film, Stamped From the Beginning, set to air later this year, has also been cancelled.
Amid Netflix's current woes, the streamer's animation department has been hit the hardest in terms of outages. In April, Netflix original animation development and creative leadership director Phil Rynda was fired and numerous in-house animation projects, including an adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Twits, a highly anticipated based on the beloved comic book series Bone Jeff Smith, as well as Lauren Faust's Toil and Trouble, have also been cancelled.
This was followed by news that Pearl, the big-budget animated series the streamer had developed with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, had also been cancelled.
The cancellations were the second installment in a double string of bad news for Netflix, as it also announced a major round of layoffs.
What is the situation there?
The streaming service announced it was cutting 150 jobs, mostly employed at its California office. The losses are substantial and represent about 2% of its workers in the United States.
Netflix issued a statement on the job losses, which read: "As we discussed earnings, our slowing revenue growth means we must also reduce our cost growth as a business.
"Unfortunately, today we are laying off approximately 150 employees, the majority in the United States. These changes are driven primarily by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them particularly challenging, as none of us just want to say goodbye to so good colleagues. We are working hard to support you through this very difficult transition."
Netflix did not disclose details about which department the layoffs originated from, but a Los Angeles Times report said the department of recruiting, communications and content were affected. It also indicates that this could well be the start of a broader series of job losses later in 2022.
Analysis: Netflix's problems continue
We all know why these cost cutting measures are implemented. Netflix continues to reel from the news that it has lost 200.000 subscribers since the beginning of 2022, an announcement that has removed more than $70.000 billion from the company's valuation.
Add to that last week's news that Netflix has internally confirmed plans to start cracking down on password sharing before the end of 2022 and you see a clear trend. They need to downsize.
Netflix executives are hoping that increased revenue from its crackdown on password sharing will ease some of the pain, as will its plans for a cheaper, ad-supported subscription model later in 2022. But this clearly isn't. should be enough.
We won't know if Netflix has suffered another drop in subscribers until its next earnings call, but that's not the behavior of an organization treating the drop in subscribers earlier in the year like an idiot, it's the behavior of someone hatching.