Netflix Co-Founder Says Companies Aren’t Families Because “You Would Never Lay Off Two of Your Kids”

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings is revisiting one of the defining ideas behind the company’s workplace culture: businesses should not describe themselves as families when they may eventually need to let employees go. Hastings recently explained that lesson while discussing Netflix’s evolution and the management philosophy that helped shape the streaming giant. Speaking to Semafor, Hastings recalled Netflix’s difficult period following the dot-com crash. In 2001, when Netflix was still primarily a DVD rental business, the company laid off roughly one-third…