Snap is laying off roughly 16% of its global workforce, impacting around 1,000 full-time employees. The company cites advancements in artificial intelligence as key to these cuts.

“While these changes are necessary to realise Snap’s long-term potential, we believe that rapid advancements in artificial intelligence enable our teams to reduce repetitive work, increase velocity, and better support our community, partners, and advertisers,” CEO Evan Spiegel wrote in a memo. The company is also closing more than 300 open roles.

Snap had about 5,261 full-time employees as of December 2025. Employees based in the U.S. will receive four months of severance, healthcare coverage, equity vesting, and transition support. The company says the cuts will allow it to reduce its annualized cost base by more than $500 million by the second half of 2026, helping to ‘establish a clearer path to net-income profitability.’

The move is part of a trend seen in tech companies this year, including Meta, Oracle and Amazon. Snap faces a crucible moment – squeezed between giants with enormous resources and nimble startups moving fast,” the company wrote in a presentation to investors. “To meet this moment, we are pivoting toward profitable growth.”