Snapchat parent company lays off product team staff as tech layoffs surge to nearly 250,000

Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, has laid off nearly 20 employees who held product management titles as part of the company’s effort to reorganize and streamline its operations, Snap announced in a statement last week.

According to The Information which first reported the news, the layoff affected “nearly 20 product managers, in the latest shakeup after several top departures over the last three months.”

In a separate announcement, a Snap spokesperson also revealed that Nima Khajehnouri, who has served as Snap’s vice president of engineering for an extended period, informed employees earlier this week that he will be departing. His final day with the company is slated for December 1, The Information reported.

The recent layoffs at the social messaging company come just over a year after it cut 20% of its workforce, which totaled over 6,400 employees. Similar to its larger counterpart Meta, Snap has informed investors about advertising slowdowns linked to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

Despite these challenges, there is a silver lining for Snap. In its recent third-quarter earnings report, the company revealed a 5% year-over-year growth in overall sales, reaching $1.19 billion, surpassing analyst expectations.

The broader economic downturn, initiated in the second quarter of this year, is starting to significantly impact tech companies. In recent months, tech firms, crypto exchanges, fintechs, and banks have been downsizing and slowing down hiring processes due to global economic challenges such as a looming recession, inflation, higher interest rates, the energy crisis in Europe, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Tech companies, particularly those in the social media sector, are feeling the pressure as companies reduce advertising budgets in response to escalating costs and a dip in consumer spending. According to Layoff.fyi, a website tracking technology job losses, at least 1,106 tech companies have laid off 248,974 tech workers since the beginning of the year.