After introducing several AI tools, Snap snaps 10% of its workforce for a total of 32,500 layoffs in tech for 2024 alone

Snap, the company which owns the AI-plagued Snapchat messaging app, is now laying off one-tenth of its workforce (via Reuters).

The 10% job cut equates to around 530 employees, meaning the 2023 layoff spree in tech is not over yet.

Snapchat, the report reads, has “long struggled to turn its popularity with young users into consistent revenue growth” and thus competing with Meta’s products like Instagram and Facebook is becoming harder by the day.

“In order to best position our business to execute on our highest priorities, and to ensure we have the capacity to invest incrementally to support our growth over time, we have made the difficult decision to restructure our team”, Snap announced.

According to a principal analyst at a research firm, the layoff move by Snap is an attempt “to garner some goodwill with investors, who rewarded its competitor for its cost-cutting measures”.

Snap joins other tech and media firms such as Amazon and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) that announced layoffs in January 2024.

So far, over 32,000 workers have been laid off from more than 100 companies in tech since the start of the year, according to tracking website Layoffs.fyi. If the current rate (32,000/month) continues in full swing, that could lead to 384,000 sackings in 2024. This is way more than what the tech sector saw in 2023, when almost 263,000 jobs were shed, per Layoffs’ statistics.

The AI controversy

The AI craze is a fact, but not every AI tool out there is getting love and attention from users.

Snapchat’s My AI feature got the messaging app in trouble after due to a glitch the bot began posting pictures and videos on its own, without the user interacting with the app. As a result, 25,000 people each month asked Google how to get rid of Snapchat’s My AI.

Meanwhile, in the UK the same My AI feature got the opposite of the public’s love when one UK regulatory body issued a warning against the chatbot, talking about potential risks to children's privacy. There have also been some situations where the chatbot has been giving inappropriate advice, despite Snap's claims that it has strict moderation and safeguarding features. One example of said advice is the chatbot suggesting to a 15-year-old user ways to hide the smell of alcohol.

Most recently, Snapchat added another weird AI tool, this time allowing users to create “Custom Bitmoji Pets”.