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Brutal Month for Netflix Ends With Anger: 'Netflix Recruited Me Seven Months Ago Only to Lay Me Off' It remains to be seen if the streaming giant will initiate another round of layoffs or drill down on other ways to cut costs.

By Amanda Breen

It's been a tumultuous month for Netflix; the streaming service's shares plummeted more than 26% during premarket trading on April 20 after the company reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers during the first quarter — the first time its paid users have dropped off in more than a decade. And it looks like things will continue to get worse before they get better, as per The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has started laying off staff at Tudum, its fan site the company's marketing division launched last year.

Related: Spielberg Inks Shocking Movie Deal With Netflix: 'We Cannot Wait to Get to Work'

A person with inside knowledge of the situation told Entrepreneur that approximately 25 full-time staff and contractors at Tudum — an onomatopoeic homage to the sound that plays alongside Netflix's logo when a user opens the app — were laid off on Thursday. At this time, it's unclear if more layoffs are to come, but a Netflix spokesperson told THR that the site remains "an important priority for the company."

Netflix initially launched Tudum in December of last year to create consumer-facing content focusing on Netflix series and films such as Bridgerton, Stranger Things, Love Is Blind and Selling Sunset, and hired numerous entertainment journalists and writers to drive its editorial growth. Earlier this week, Netflix insiders informed THR that hiring had also slowed down at the company.

Needless to say, those who were laid off weren't happy about it, and some took to Twitter in search of work and a paycheck to cover rent and other necessities.

Others made mention of the fact that the streamer sought them out just seven months ago.

The tweets also elicited some strong reactions from people who weren't directly impacted by the layoffs.

It remains to be seen if the streaming giant will initiate another round of layoffs or drill down on other ways to cut costs. The company has already increased subscription prices, announced its intention to put a stop to password sharing and will introduce advertising to its platform.

Related: 'Milking Us For Every Dollar Spent': Netflix is Cracking Down on Password Sharing With New Fees and Customers Are Not Having It

The company was up 0.49% as of 10:15 a.m. today.

Amanda Breen

Entrepreneur Staff

Senior Features Writer

Amanda Breen is a senior features writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate of Barnard College and received an MFA in writing at Columbia University, where she was a news fellow for the School of the Arts.

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