Snap to lay off ‘approximately’ 10% of its staff

Social media giant Snap, which operates Snapchat, has announced plans to cut “approximately” 10% of its staff.

The firm said in November 2023 it had 5,000 employees, suggesting around 500 people are facing redundancy.

It is the second wave of mass redundancies from the social media company, which laid off about 20% of its workers in August 2022.

Snapchat said the move would “reduce hierarchy and promote in-person collaboration”.

“We are focused on supporting our departing team members and we are very grateful for their hard work and many contributions to Snap,” a spokesperson told the BBC.

According to its most recent annual report, more than 500 people work for the firm in the UK. It is unclear if any of the cuts will fall in the UK.

The latest job cuts come as companies, including Meta and Google, have been grappling with how to balance cost-cutting measures with the need to remain competitive.

According to layoffs.fyi, which tracks job losses in the tech sector, there were more than 232,000 job cuts in the industry in 2023.

The redundancies were announced by the firm in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Snap said that the layoffs would affect staff globally, but did not specify who would be affected further.

“In order to best position our business to execute on our highest priorities, and to ensure we have the capacity to invest incrementally to support our growth over time, we have made the difficult decision to restructure our team,” the firm said.

In its filing, it said the cuts would be “subject to local law and consultation requirements” in each country, which could extend the process.

And it estimated the move could cost it between $55m (£44m) and $75m (£60m) in severance payments “and other charges”.

The announcement comes a day before Snap is set to report its fourth-quarter financial results.