Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel announced today that the company will be eliminating around 1,000 jobs, which is around 16% of its workforce, as part of an organizational restructuring, while also closing the door on over 300 open roles.
The move comes as the company tries to reduce its annualized cost base by more than $500 million by the second half of 2026.
For Snap, this isn"t the first time the company has laid off thousands. Back in August 2022, the company slashed 20% of its workforce during the COVID-19 waves, and followed up with a 10% cut in early 2024 to execute on its "highest priorities".
Although the previous layoffs were framed around correcting the pandemic-era overhiring and navigating poor macroeconomic conditions, today"s announcement is different. Spiegel says that the current climate is a "crucible moment" for Snap, and the company needs a faster, more agile way of operating so that it can achieve consistent net-income profits.
Spiegel noted that "rapid advancements in artificial intelligence enable our teams to reduce repetitive work, increase velocity, and better support our community, partners, and advertisers."
Over the last few years, Snap has been trying aggressively to integrate AI into Snapchat"s core user experience. It partnered with OpenAI to launch its My AI chatbot, and later upgraded it with Google"s Gemini to support multimodal image and video queries. Just last month, the company rolled out AI Clips in Lens Studio, using which developers and creators could generate high-quality AR video experiences from closed text prompts in a few seconds.
It now seems that Snap is trying to use the same genAI power inward. The company claims that they have already witnessed "small squads" leveraging AI tools to drive massive progress across vital internal initiatives. This includes beefing up the performance of its ad platforms, expanding Snapchat+ subscription, and efficiency improvements in its lighter, more accessible "Snap Lite" app.
For the 1,000 departing employees, Snap says that it will provide them with four months of severance, healthcare, and equity vesting.