Netflix models employment like a professional sports engagement, where performance is regularly reviewed in context and persons who no longer contribute to the "team dynamic" are "traded", i.e., fired, to go find a "team" in which their contributions are a better fit.

Everyone knows this because Netflix released a big presentation about it a while ago. They keep "top performers" only as long as they are top performance from Netflix's perspective, and then dismiss them with a "generous severance".

It's definitely an interesting way to do employment.

Sounds like contractors. Why not just admit it and fire everybody?

I agree that it sounds like contracting. They're trying to normalize it, I think. Most people won't be contractors because contractors have to pay extra taxes, buy their own benefits, and have no job security. Netflix takes care of these first two and makes the last one softer by giving a "generous severance" while the ex-employee finds a new home (I'm not sure on the specifics of how that works; maybe a NF employee who has been "traded" can offer detail (though he's probably contractually forbidden from doing so)).

yes but 51%? that's a ridiculous number.

Netflix has a history of trimming unneeded employees as soon as they are deemed unneeded.