A year into the pandemic, Evan Spiegel was flying high. The chief executive of Snap said annual revenue growth of 50% or more was a “steady state opportunity” for the social media company, requiring no additional gains in audience or innovation.
These days, things are heading in a different direction. An ex-employee freshly let go from the company’s research and development wing offered this apocalyptic view of its current status: “sinking and on fire.”
On Tuesday, Spiegel announced that the parent company of the Snapchat app would be cutting about 20% of positions, making good on layoff plans that leaked to the media in early August. Facing the chopping block are investments in gaming, third-party services and original content as well as the company’s camera-equipped drones and glasses. Two stand-alone apps the company owns, Zenly and Voisey, are also “winding down.”
