Snap, after reporting second-quarter results that missed already-lowered Wall Street forecasts, is in the “early stages” of planning for a wave of layoffs, The Verge reported, citing anonymous sources.
Snap declined to comment. As of the end of June 2022, the social messaging and media company had 6,446 full-time employees, up 38% year over year.
In announcing the Q2 results, Snap said it intends to “substantially slow our rate of hiring, as well as the rate of operating expense growth. We will reprioritize our investments and drive a renewed focus on productivity.” The company did not mention the possibility for layoffs, however.
Per the Verge report, the scope of Snap’s looming layoffs isn’t clear as “managers across the company are still planning the full scope of the cuts for their teams.”
Snap’s most recent mass job cuts came in 2018. In March of that year, the company laid off about 220 employees, which Snap said would save $34 million per year in salaries and taxes in addition to a one-time benefit of $31 million related to stock-based compensation forfeitures.
For Q2, Snap reported revenue of $1.11 billion, up 13%, and a net loss of $422 million (an adjusted net loss of 2 cents per share), under Wall Street forecasts. Snap did not provide guidance for Q3 sales or earnings, citing “uncertainties related to the operating environment,” said said in its investor letter that so far in Q3 revenue is approximately flat on a year-over-year basis.
In the Q2 letter, Snap said “demand growth on our advertising platform has slowed significantly,” saying that in some cases advertisers have lowered their bids per action to reflect their current willingness to pay. In addition, the company said it is seeing “increasing competition for advertising dollars that are now growing more slowly.”
