Snap Lays Off Recruiters as It Prepares for Slower Hiring (Report)

Snapchat corporate parent Snap Inc. has laid off 18 people from within its recruiting division this week as it prepares for slower hiring next year, Business Insider reported Friday. News of the layoffs comes just weeks after the company laid off about a dozen people from the team that built its Spectacles wearable product.

Snap confirmed the layoffs, but declined to comment further.

News of the recruiter layoffs comes after Snap CEO Evan Spiegel reportedly told staff in an email that it would slow down its hiring in 2018. Snapchat tripled its headcount in 2016, ending the year with 1859 staffers. The company said during its most recent earnings call in August that it employed “approximately 2600” staffers at the time.

By slowing the pace of hiring, Snap is likely looking to control costs and appease investors after coming under pressure for lower-than-expected earnings in recent months. The company generated revenue of $181.7 million during its most recent quarter, which was less than analysts had expected. Its stock fell below $12 in August, and has since somewhat recovered to trade at $15.50, or $1.50 below its IPO pricing.

Snap laid off about a dozen members of its hardware team in September. The team had been key to the development of its first Spectacles wearable product. However, Spectacles have not exactly been a huge success for Snap. Snap sold fewer than 42,000 units of the product in Q2, with sales declining roughly 30% quarter-over-quarter.

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