Snap layoffs hit dozens of employees amid reports of lackluster engagement

January 18, 2018

Snap just laid off about two dozen employees, sources have confirmed with Fast Company. The layoffs hit many on the company’s content team, although eight teams were impacted in total. The company is now consolidating this team to California, which had members in New York as well.

The layoffs were first reported by the Information (paywall). People with knowledge of the situation told Fast Company that many Snap content employees were asked to either move to California or be cut.

Snap has considered content one of its main revenue drivers. But recent headlines have pointed to severe headwinds. According to a report from last week, engagement has suffered. Only 20% of its users engage with Discover, and other new highly anticipated features–like Maps–are also seeing adoption problems.

Meanwhile, many publishers aren’t seeing the results they hoped to with Snapchat content. CNN announced that it would cancel its show on the platform because its revenue prospects were dim. Similarly, a recent survey of ad buyers reported an overwhelming Instagram preference. All these problems point to scaling and revenue-building hiccups.

A source close to Snap tells Fast Company that despite these changes, the company plans to hire more in the coming months.

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