Snapchat Messenger: Snap cuts 16 percent of jobs worldwide

US company Snap, operator of the messenger Snapchat, is cutting around 1000 jobs worldwide as well as at least 300 open positions. This is according to a filing with the US stock exchange regulator SEC and an internal letter from CEO Evan Spiegel to the staff. The US corporation expects productivity gains and long-term profitability from the use of artificial intelligence.

By cutting 16 percent of its jobs, the company aims to save around 500 million US dollars per year. This is offset by one-time charges of 95 to 130 million US dollars for severance pay and transition payments. However, this step is not new: The company had already laid off about 500 employees in 2024. The most massive cut to date was a wave of layoffs from 2022, which affected even 20 percent of the staff at the time.

More hoped-for productivity through AI

In the internal letter, Snap CEO Spiegel primarily justifies the measure by rapid technological change. Advances in the field of AI allow many repetitive processes to be largely automated and development tasks to be completed much faster. The job cuts are to impact all areas of activity, such as development, design, marketing, and administration. Publicly perceptible criticism from employee representatives or unions has so far been absent.

The economic pressure on Snap is growing: The stock has fallen by around 30 percent so far this year. A weakening advertising business and imminent social media bans for teenagers worldwide are slowing user growth. As a way out, CEO Spiegel is also relying on new AR glasses, which are expected to be released in 2026.

Other companies are also cutting jobs

Snap's move is part of a wave of consolidation in the tech industry. After many IT corporations had expanded strongly in the past, they are now laying off many jobs again. Across the industry, the focus is on integrating AI technologies into workflows and thereby increasing productivity.

This wave of layoffs includes, among others, the reduction of 16,000 jobs at Amazon and presumably thousands of jobs at Oracle. Microsoft also announced last year that it would cut around 6,000 jobs – about 3 percent of its global workforce of 228,000 employees.

However, some reports suggest that the expectations of tech companies may not be fully met. For example, 5 percent of those laid off in the USA are said to have already been rehired by their former employers.

(hag)