Snap Inc. is set to eliminate approximately 1,000 positions, representing around 16% of its total workforce, as part of a significant restructuring effort. This includes a reduction of 95 jobs in Washington state, impacting its offices in Bellevue, Seattle, and Vancouver, effective between April 16 and June 16. The layoffs will predominantly affect technical roles such as software engineers, machine learning engineers, and data scientists.
The company, headquartered in Santa Monica, California, reported having 5,261 employees as of December. In addition to the layoffs, CEO Evan Spiegel announced plans to cut over 300 job openings that were previously intended to be filled. This initiative is aimed at achieving cost savings exceeding $500 million by the latter half of the year.
Snap's recent investor update highlighted that more than 65% of its new code is generated by artificial intelligence, which Spiegel cited as a factor that enables smaller teams to manage tasks that previously required larger groups. This restructuring comes shortly after Snap acquired assets from Rec Room, a social gaming firm that is closing due to profitability challenges.