Netflix Film VP Doug Belgrad Out In Layoffs

As part of Netflix‘s largest restructuring in four years, film division executive Doug Belgrad has been laid off, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

Belgrad had served as a right hand man to film chairman Dan Lin since he joined the streaming giant in 2024 following a long run at Sony including as president of Columbia Pictures. His hire was the first big exec move by Lin at the time after the exec succeeded Scott Stuber in the role overseeing all movies at the streaming giant.

Belgrad had just toasted the launch of the Ben Affleck-directed Animals at its Los Angeles world premiere early in October, and had been a key part of managing Netflix’s massive slate of original movies. (The company spends an estimated $20 billion annually on content, including film and TV, overall.)

At Netflix, Belgrad managed the managers in the film division for original, live-action titles but not animation or acquisition titles. During Lin’s tenure, Netflix’s film division has been structured into silos by genre. For example, Kira Goldberg oversees thrillers (think: Charlize Theron’s Apex), Jason Young oversees action titles (like Alan Ritchson starrer War Machine) while Hannah Minghella leads animation, and so on.

On Wednesday, Netflix co-chiefs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters informed staff that it would cut 1,000 employees, around 6 percent of its workforce as part of a widely telegraphed move to reorganize and cut costs.

“We know changes like this are tough, but let’s stay focused,” the memo from the co-CEOs read. “This is one of the most dynamic times in the history of entertainment – and it’s a moment perfectly suited to a company like ours that’s built at the intersection of technology and entertainment. Now it’s on us to step up and meet the moment, together, like we always do.”

Sarandos and Peters also noted, “Our business is strong and growing, and we remain on track to deliver our full-year forecast. We’ll continue to invest aggressively in high- impact areas to improve our service and further drive growth and innovation.”

More to come.