Snap Inc. is laying off 16% of its full-time workforce, or about 1,000 employees, with CEO Evan Spiegel declaring that “a new way of working” is possible thanks to artificial intelligence.

In a memo to employees (read it below), Spiegel said the cuts, along with related efforts to become more efficient, will reduce annual costs by $500 million a year by the second half of 2026.

As of the end of 2025, Santa Monica, CA-based Snap had 5,261 global employees.

The company has faced intensifying competition from TikTok and continues to battle longtime rivals in social media like Instagram and X, formerly Twitter. With advertising revenue under pressure, Snap shares have fallen more than 30% in 2026 to date. In pre-market trading Wednesday, they rose 7% on the layoff news.

An activist investor, Irenic Capital Management, has been pushing for cost reductions at the company. The firm has taken a 2.5% stake in Snap.

The company has been through previous rounds of substantial layoffs, most recently in 2024, but has fortified its ranks over the past couple of years to support projects like augmented-reality glasses. “Specs,” as the wearable devices are called, are expected to debut later this year after years of anticipation.

Spiegel said AI has transformed the company’s workflow and will continue to do so. He described the company having arrived at “a crucible moment” that requires “a new way of working that is faster and more efficient.”

Letting go of employees is “necessary to realize Snap’s long-term potential,” Spiegel maintained in the memo. “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. We have already witnessed small squads leveraging AI tools to drive meaningful progress across several important initiatives.”

A wide range of U.S. businesses have been investing staggering sums in AI, with tech firms in particular seeing the technology as a way to supercharge efficiency.

Here is Spiegel’s full memo:

Dear Team,

Today we are announcing changes that will impact approximately 1,000 team members at Snap, including 16% of our full time employees, in addition to closing more than 300 open roles. This is an incredibly difficult decision, and I am deeply sorry to the colleagues who will be leaving us. You have made important contributions to Snap, and we are committed to supporting you through this transition.

Last fall, I described Snap as facing a crucible moment, requiring a new way of working that is faster and more efficient, while pivoting towards profitable growth. Over the past several months, we have carefully reviewed the work required to best serve our community and partners, and made tough choices to prioritize the investments we believe are most likely to create long-term value. As a result of these changes, we expect to reduce our annualized cost base by more than $500 million by the second half of 2026, helping to establish a clearer path to net-income profitability.

While these changes are necessary to realize 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. We have already witnessed small squads leveraging AI tools to drive meaningful progress across several important initiatives, including Snapchat+, enhanced ad platform performance, and efficiency improvements in our Snap Lite infrastructure.
If you are part of our North America team, please work from home today. In the US, impacted team members will receive an email notification within the next hour, including information about next steps. For non-U.S. locations, you will receive additional details about next steps from leadership and HR.

To our departing colleagues: thank you. Your hard work has helped shape Snap, and we are deeply grateful for your contributions. For U.S.-based team members who are leaving, we will provide four months of severance, healthcare coverage, and equity vesting, along with career transition support. Outside the U.S., we will follow local processes and seek to provide comparable support aligned with local norms.

To everyone continuing on this journey: change of this magnitude and at this speed is never easy and it will not be seamless. Thank you for your resilience, compassion, and commitment to one another, and to the community and partners we serve. Our responsibility is to move forward with clarity, empathy, and determination as we build a faster, stronger, and more durable Snap for the long term.

Evan