Netflix Establishes $100M Coronavirus Relief Fund

Source: SOPA Images / Getty

Netflix Set Aside $100 Million For Entertainment Industry Workers Affected By The Coronavirus

According to Page Six, Netflix has reportedly created a $100 million relief fund to help members of the entertainment industry who have been left unemployed and without a way to earn an income during the coronavirus crisis.

Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement:

“The COVID-19 crisis is devastating for many industries, including the creative community. Almost all television and film production has now ceased globally — leaving hundreds of thousands of crew and cast without jobs,” . “These include electricians, carpenters and drivers, many of whom are paid hourly wages and work on a project-to-project basis. This community has supported Netflix through the good times, and we want to help them through these hard times, especially while governments are still figuring out what economic support they will provide.”

The fund was set up to offset the mass layoffs that hit the film industry hard. Reportedly 120,000 crew members have lost their jobs since the infection rate began spiking and production came to a halt.

Also $15 million of the Netflix fund will go to third parties and non-profits that offer emergency relief to out-of-work crew and cast in countries where there’s a large production base. $1 million each to the SAG-AFTRA COVID-19 Disaster Fund, the Motion Picture & Television Fund, and the Actors Fund Emergency Assistance in the U.S., as well as $1 million between the AFC and Fondation des Artistes.