Snapchat has announced plans to lay off about 16% of its global workforce, affecting roughly 1,000 employees, as part of a restructuring aimed at cutting costs and boosting efficiency.
CEO Evan Spiegel disclosed the move in a memo to staff and a regulatory filing, saying the decision reflects the company’s push to reposition itself amid growing competition in social media and digital advertising.
Spiegel explained that advances in artificial intelligence are enabling teams to streamline operations.
“Rapid advancements in AI enable our teams to reduce repetitive work, increase velocity, and better support our community, partners, and advertisers,” he said.
The restructuring will also shut down more than 300 open roles, with Snap projecting annual cost savings of over $500 million by the second half of 2026.
Snap described the cuts as a critical turning point, noting it is “squeezed between giants with enormous resources and nimble startups moving fast.”
The company said the changes are part of a shift toward profitable growth.
As of December 2025, Snap employed about 5,261 full-time staff, making this one of its largest workforce reductions in recent years.
Affected U.S. employees will receive severance packages including four months’ pay, healthcare coverage, equity vesting, and transition support.
The layoffs place Snap among several tech giants cutting jobs in 2026. Amazon has already laid off 16,000 workers, Meta is planning cuts of up to 20% of its workforce, and Oracle is restructuring with tens of thousands of roles at risk, all tied to heavy investments in AI and automation.
Snap said the restructuring is designed to accelerate its path to net-income profitability, with resources reallocated toward high-priority initiatives like Snapchat+, advertising performance, and infrastructure efficiency.
