Snap to cut 1,000 employees due to AI

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The technology company Snap will be terminating the employment of around 16 per cent of its global workforce, affecting approximately 1,000 permanent employees.

Reported by TechCrunch on Wednesday (15/4) local time, this news was confirmed from a memo sent to staff by Snap CEO Evan Spiegel.

The company cited progress in artificial intelligence (AI) as the reason for the redundancies.

“While these changes are necessary to realise Snap’s long-term potential, we believe that rapid advances in artificial intelligence will enable our teams to reduce repetitive work, increase speed, and better support our community, partners, and advertisers,” read the memo.

The statement further said, “We have seen small teams leverage AI tools to drive meaningful progress on several key initiatives, including Snapchat+, improvements to our advertising platform performance, and efficiency gains in our Snap Lite infrastructure.”

The company stated that these staff cuts will allow it to reduce its annual cost base by more than $500 million in the second half of 2026, helping the company “set a clearer path to net income profitability.”

“Snap faces a pivotal moment — squeezed between giants with vast resources and nimble, fast-moving startups,” the company wrote in a presentation to investors.

“To navigate this moment, we are shifting our focus towards profitable growth.”

US-based employees will receive four months’ severance, health insurance, stock ownership rights, and transition support.

The company joins a growing list of technology firms that have experienced significant staff reductions this year, including Meta, Oracle, and Amazon.