Snap to Lay off 10% of Global Workforce to ‘Promote In-Person Collaboration’

Snap, the maker of the social media platform Snapchat, says it will lay off 10 percent of its global workforce, around 500 employees, to “promote in-person collaboration.”

The social media company, which laid off 20 percent of its staff in 2022 and a small number of product employees in November, made its announcement on Monday, amid its shares falling around one percent in morning trading, according to a report by CNBC.

“We are reorganizing our team to reduce hierarchy and promote in-person collaboration,” a Snap spokesperson told CNBC. “We are focused on supporting our departing team members.”

Snap reportedly expects to incur charges ranging from $55 million to $75 million, a regulatory filing reveals.

The layoffs in tech announced over the past month or so have many asking if this is a bellwether for the broader labor market. Will employment in the U.S. follow the path being blazed by Silicon Valley? https://t.co/QAMlRaLS2S

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 26, 2023

At the time of publishing, Snap stock is $16.52 a share, just below the company’s debut price of $17 a share, and well off its 2021 high of around $83 a share.

Last week, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he — alongside several other executives of social media companies — was grilled by senators over the issue of child safety on social media platforms.

Snap is the latest social media company to make another round of cuts to its employees in 2024.

This month, IT service management company Okta and software company Zoom have also laid off employees.

Silicon Valley’s biggest tech corporations are continuing mass layoffs in the U.S., even as they import more than 34,000 foreign H-1B visa workers to take coveted white-collar jobs in STEM fields, new analysis shows. https://t.co/tfbWMag418

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) April 12, 2023

Nearly 24,000 tech workers have lost their jobs in January alone, according to CNBC.

Meta, meanwhile, has implemented what CEO Mark Zuckerberg called a “year of efficiency” that saw merciless cuts to its workforce. The Facebook and Instagram owner’s stock surged 20 percent after the company announced its first ever dividend.

Amazon and Alphabet have also pursued similar endeavors with regards to reducing their workforces in recent years.

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