Netflix Cuts Up to 3% of London Staff as VP Anna Mallett Exits

By Elena Vasquez

Netflix has laid off between 2% and 3% of the workforce at its London headquarters, the company has confirmed, as the fallout from last month's U.S. re-organisation reaches Britain. The U.K. cuts include staff in the publicity department.

The shake-up has also claimed Anna Mallett, Netflix's vice president of physical production for the U.K. and local language production across EMEA, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Mallett, who was based in London, has exited the streamer, according to The Ankler, which first reported her departure.

The numbers frame the scale. Netflix is understood to have cut 1,000 jobs worldwide. Against that total, the London reduction of 2-3% represents one outpost in a global contraction. One senior production executive departing, alongside dozens of U.K. roles, signals the re-org is not confined to Los Angeles.

Who is Anna Mallett?

Mallett joined Netflix in 2020 from ITN, the news producer, where she was CEO. At Netflix she oversaw the production management team for live-action series, non-fiction and film. Before ITN she held senior roles at BBC Studios.

Her tenure coincided with some of Netflix's biggest U.K. successes. The streamer launched "Baby Reindeer" and "Adolescence" during her time in the role. Both titles became global hits from the U.K. slate she helped manage.

Why did the changes happen?

The layoffs follow a U.S. re-organisation last month in which Netflix jettisoned content chief Bela Bajaria and replaced her with Peter Rice, an alum of Disney and Fox. Industry observers now expect further shake-ups, particularly around Netflix's international output.

Co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos say nothing will change internationally, at least for now. Peters addressed the question directly on Netflix's most recent earnings call: "We had great results in APAC, LATAM and EMEA. Our local titles from those regions are driving engagement and they're driving business growth. And you can see how our business model works here."

The claim sits uneasily beside the facts on the ground. A vice president responsible for local-language production across three continents has just left, and the office managing one of Netflix's most productive production hubs has shed staff. In plain terms: leadership says international is thriving while the international operation shrinks.

What comes next?

The open question is whether Mallett's exit marks the end of the U.K. cuts or the start of a wider restructuring of Netflix's international production apparatus. With Rice newly installed as content chief and Bajaria's departure still fresh, further leadership changes in the regions remain possible.

For the U.K. production community, the stakes are concrete. Netflix has been one of the largest spenders on British-made content, and the team that delivered "Adolescence" and "Baby Reindeer" has just lost its head and part of its publicity support. Whether Peters's earnings-call optimism holds against further executive departures will define the next chapter of Netflix's local-language strategy.