Sources: Snap plans to start laying off ~20% of its 6,400+ employees on August 31, 2022, including cuts to its hardware group; Snap stock is down ~80% in 2022
Snap's stock price has declined nearly 80 percent this year — Snap is planning to lay off approximately 20 percent …
The Verge Alex Heath
Context & Ripple Effects
Snap had already made smaller cuts in its content organization and engineering unit before this much larger restructuring. The same-day follow-up shows the workforce reduction was paired with cancellations of original shows, in-app games, and other projects, extending the retrenchment beyond headcount.
Later 10% workforce reduction in 2024 and a reported 2026 plan to cut roughly 1,000 roles place the August 2022 action in a longer series of cost-focused resets at Snap rather than a one-off adjustment.
First-order effects
- Snap’s planned reduction removes roughly one-fifth of its 6,400-plus employees, with its hardware group among the affected organizations.
- Snap is simultaneously narrowing its operating slate by ending original shows, in-app games, and several other projects.
Second-order effects
- The hardware-group cuts reduce the internal staffing available for Snap’s hardware efforts while the company reallocates attention away from the canceled content and games initiatives.
- Snap’s content and game ambitions lose projects and teams at the same moment that the company is seeking a lower-cost operating structure amid its stock decline.
Third-order effects
- Snap’s subsequent workforce reductions indicate a recurring pattern in which cost control and profitability goals repeatedly reshape the company’s staffing and project portfolio.
- If that pattern persists, Snap’s organizational strategy will be defined less by maintaining broad experimental teams and more by repeated prioritization of a narrower set of businesses.
The trend: Snap’s restructuring history points to an extended shift from broad product and content experimentation toward recurring cost-driven portfolio concentration.
Related: Snap cuts staff and cancels projects · Snap’s 2024 workforce reduction · Snap’s earlier engineering layoffs · Snap’s reported 2026 cost-cutting plan
Related Coverage
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Discussion
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@themediaisdying
@themediaisdying
on x
That's a lot of staff. https://twitter.com/...
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@cjthesmartguy
@cjthesmartguy
on x
First the crypto industry, now the tech industry... this is how recessions snowball https://twitter.com/...
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@eric_seufert
Eric Seufert
on x
@om ... I cant imagine that happening. Y/Y growth has slowed (-1% last Q, +3% on constant-currency basis) but the company is still incredibly profitable. Also: Meta has already made meaningful progress in adapting to privacy environment — Snap, per last Q, is just starting.
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@pierce
David Pierce
on x
Oof, that's a big big number for Snap https://twitter.com/...
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@hedgeyecomm
@hedgeyecomm
on x
20% is still a large # $SNAP - smaller than the 50% top-line growth forever guidance they gave in Feb 2021 though. https://www.theverge.com/...
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@fullbeerbottle
@fullbeerbottle
on x
Snap back to reality, Oh, there goes gravity https://twitter.com/...
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@carnage4life
Dare Obasanjo
on x
Looks like I missed the news of 20% layoffs at Snap which makes losing two senior ad execs to Netflix less of a surprise. The layoffs are a far cry from the company announcing in February of this year that Apple's privacy changes have no effect on them. https://www.theverge.com/.…
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@alexeheath
Alex Heath
on x
@eric_seufert ... Co-sign Eric. Also, Meta is doing forced attrition as I outlined here https://www.theverge.com/...
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@theryanford
Ryan Ford
on x
This is a hell of a notice. Snap employees now get to experience the total anxiety of 24 hours of waiting to see if they still have a job. https://twitter.com/...
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@tessak22
Tessa Kriesel
on x
Knowing but not knowing yet is absolutely brutal. https://twitter.com/...
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@jason_kint
Jason Kint
on x
Perfect hires. Congrats to both. https://twitter.com/...
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@editorialiste
@editorialiste
on x
“Like its other tech peers, Snap hired aggressively during the pandemic ... the problem is that Snap's business hasn't fared well coming out of the pandemic.” https://twitter.com/...
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@jason
@jason
on x
Serious RIFs still rolling in, lbut the open jobs number still high feels like we're triangulating the true bottom, which is a healthy but painful process. https://twitter.com/...
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@alexeheath
Alex Heath
on x
@om @Meta Would never rule out, but it's quite a different situation from an EBITDA margin / scale perspective
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@joannastern
Joanna Stern
on x
Sad to see the cut backs in AR hardware. Snap is doing some of the most interesting stuff right now in AR. https://twitter.com/...
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@fosspatents
Florian Mueller
on x
From @alexeheath's article: “thanks to recession fears and the trouble it had navigating Apple's crackdown on ad tracking across iOS apps” though “user base has continued to grow strongly”. That's the same Snap that tried to help Apple against @TimSweeneyEpic on last day of trial…
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@om
@om
on x
@alexeheath ... Given how much of the larger economy and startup ecosystem is in trouble, they will probably be more impacted. The slowdown isn't fully factored into all forecasts and it be interesting to watch. They have adapted, but might be time to use this San excuse to be “l…
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@om
@om
on x
@alexeheath @Meta The scale of their problems is bigger as well. I wouldn't be surprised and it could be soon!
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@akruglov
Alex Kruglov
on x
What worries me here as a shareholder is that they seem to be cutting areas where I was seeing future growth (e.g., games, micro-transactions, new products). Hope to be proven wrong... $SNAP https://twitter.com/...
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@sarafischer
Sara Fischer
on x
#BREAKING: Major @Snap restructuring, per Evan Spiegel memo just went out — 20% layoffs (1200+ staffers) — Investment pullbacks in originals games, selfie drone “Pixy” & “Minis” — Jerry Hunter promoted to COO — Anticipates $500M savings Story on @axios: https://www.axios.com/...
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@alexeheath
Alex Heath
on x
Snap confirms that it is laying off 20% of employees and cancelling several initiatives, including its original shows and in-app games https://t.co/5ApA571o0l https://t.co/yfX2hKlk4V
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@pt
Parker
on x
With Netflix falling from grace and Facebook rebranding as Meta is FAANG now just MAGA? 🤔
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@epro
Emil Protalinski
on x
Netflix should have just bought Snap and experimented with games and other revenue sources there, keeping its streaming service as the premium tier with no ads. https://twitter.com/...
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@deancollins
Dean Collins
on x
Did either of these guys deliver at Snap? Seems a weird hiring choice. https://www.wsj.com/...
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@carnage4life
Dare Obasanjo
on x
Snap is losing both its ads business leader and top ad sales exec in the Americas to Netflix as the streaming giant adds an ad-supported tier powered by Microsoft Advertising. Not a good sign for Snapchat. https://www.theverge.com/...
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@tim_bays
Tim Baysinger
on x
Huge for Netflix and maybe a bad sign for Snap https://twitter.com/...
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@alexeheath
Alex Heath
on x
Snap's two top ad execs leave for Netflix the same week that Snap begins mass layoffs https://www.theverge.com/...