Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, is the latest tech firm to announce significant job cuts, pointing to the growing role of artificial intelligence in reshaping how work gets done.
According to a recent financial disclosure, the company is laying off around 1,000 employees about 16% of its workforce while also pulling back on hundreds of open positions.
In a memo to staff, CEO Evan Spiegel described the move as part of a critical turning point for the company.
The goal, he said, is to trim annual costs by roughly $500 million (£368 million) while repositioning Snap for long-term growth.
Spiegel noted that employees who remain will increasingly rely on AI tools to streamline routine tasks and work more efficiently.
He pointed to smaller, agile teams already using these tools to move faster and get more done.
Still, he acknowledged the difficulty of the transition. “Change of this scale and pace is never easy,” he wrote, adding that the process would not be seamless.
This marks Snap’s third major round of layoffs since 2022, when it first cut about 20% of its workforce.
Notably, it’s the first time Spiegel has directly linked such decisions to the rise of AI.
The company has also been under pressure from investors.
Earlier this year, activist firm Irenic Capital Management took a stake in Snap, questioning why the company remains unprofitable after 15 years despite its large user base.
The firm also highlighted weak returns, noting that a $1 investment at Snap’s 2017 listing would now be worth just 23 cents.
In his message, Spiegel emphasized the need for a faster, more efficient operating model one that leans into AI while focusing on profitability.
His remarks echo a broader trend across the tech industry. Companies are increasingly citing advances in AI particularly tools that assist with coding and automation as a reason to reduce headcount.
So far this year, major players like Amazon, Meta, Block, Pinterest, and Atlassian have collectively cut thousands of jobs.
In many cases, executives say AI is allowing them to do more with fewer people, while also requiring massive investment that forces cost-cutting elsewhere.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Block and former head of Twitter, recently described the shift as transformative, saying AI is “fundamentally changing what it means to build and run a company.”
He added that further layoffs are likely across much of the industry in the coming year, as businesses continue to adapt to this new reality.
