Laid off from Snap.
Snap has cut at scale three times since 2022, and what it says about severance keeps changing. At least four months of compensation replacement in 2022, no terms on record in 2024, then four months in an SEC filing in April 2026.
At a glance
What's known about Snap severance and layoffs
- At least 4 months of compensation replacement · Severance in the August 2022 round
- Enrollment assistance included · COBRA in that round
- About 540 roles, 10% · The February 2024 reduction
- $55M to $75M · Estimated 2024 restructuring charges
- Four months, healthcare, equity vesting · Severance in the April 2026 round
- About 1,000 people, 16% of full-time staff · Scale of the April 2026 announcement
- $128.5M, with $74.4M severance and related · 2026 charges recorded in the second quarter
- 9 all-time, 3 in 2026 · Snap filings in our WARN tracker
Recent Snap layoffs
Snap announced about 1,000 job cuts in April 2026
Snap's April 15, 2026 plan covers about 1,000 team members, including 16 percent of full-time employees, plus more than 300 open roles closed. The company estimated $95 million to $130 million in charges and recorded $128.5 million in the second quarter, $74.4 million of it severance and related. U.S.-based staff were told they'd get four months of severance, healthcare coverage, and equity vesting.
Previous rounds
Snap layoff history
Snap announced cuts affecting about 1,000 people on April 15, 2026, roughly 16 percent of its full-time staff, and closed more than 300 open roles. What makes this round different is that the terms came in writing. Evan Spiegel's letter to the company was attached to Snap's 8-K as an exhibit, which puts them on the public record. It says U.S.-based team members who were leaving would get four months of severance, healthcare coverage, and equity vesting, along with career transition support. Outside the U.S., Snap said it would follow local processes and aim for comparable support, and the 8-K said eliminations in some countries could run into the third quarter of 2026 or later. That letter isn't the agreement you'll be asked to sign, but it gives you a public number to hold your own paperwork against.
The money behind that promise shows up twice in the filings, first as an estimate and then as recorded charges. The April 8-K put pre-tax charges at $95 million to $130 million, mostly severance and related costs, contract termination costs and impairment, with $75 million to $100 million of it expected to be paid in cash. By the second quarter Snap had recorded $128.5 million, near the top of its own estimate, and $74.4 million of that was severance and related charges. Spiegel put the target for the whole exercise at more than $500 million off the annualized cost base by the second half of 2026.
The two earlier rounds set the benchmark, and they disclosed very differently. In August 2022 Snap cut about 20 percent of a workforce it reported at 6,446 full-time employees, more than 1,200 people, and Spiegel's memo said U.S. staff would get at least four months of compensation replacement plus financial assistance to enroll in COBRA. February 2024 was the quiet one. Snap announced a 10 percent reduction, about 540 people by Variety's arithmetic, and estimated charges of $55 million to $75 million, with no severance terms on record. A spokesperson said the company was reorganizing to reduce hierarchy and promote in-person collaboration, which explains the intent without naming a single term.
Where the 2026 cuts landed is a matter of public filing. Our tracker holds three Snap filings for 2026 covering 415 jobs across two states, a California filing dated April 15 for 247 jobs, a second California filing the same day for 73, and a Washington filing dated April 16 for 95 jobs in Bellevue, Seattle and Vancouver. Snap's 8-K says it began notifying affected team members on April 15. California's Cal/WARN Act requires written notice 60 days before a mass layoff order takes effect, to the employees and to the state, and in April the law firm Strauss Borrelli said it was investigating whether the 247 Santa Monica employees got that much warning.
Losing a job you planned around is hard, whether you're already out, waiting to hear, or helping someone through it. The practical part is checking what your notice was supposed to carry. Cal/WARN covers California sites that have employed 75 or more people in the past year, and it treats 50 or more people let go there inside 30 days as a mass layoff. Where it applies, an employer that skips the required notice is liable to each employee entitled to one for back pay at the higher of their final rate or their three-year average, plus the value of the benefits they'd have had, for the length of the violation up to 60 days.
Notices in California have had to carry more since January 2026, naming whether the company is coordinating help through the local workforce development board, giving that board's contact details, and describing CalFresh. Whether any of that reaches your own situation depends on details that live in your own paperwork, so take your notice and your separation date to an employment lawyer in your state before you sign anything. Our WARN filings tracker holds nine Snap filings all-time if you want to see where this round sits against the rest.
Reporting on previous Snap layoff rounds
April 2026 · About 1,000 team members announced, 16 percent of full-time employees, and more than 300 open roles closed
Four months of severance, healthcare coverage, and equity vesting, plus career transition support for U.S.-based staff, with local processes elsewhere. Snap recorded $74.4 million of severance and related charges in the second quarter.
February 2024 · About 540 roles, 10 percent, framed as reducing hierarchy
Terms not published. Snap's 8-K estimated $55 million to $75 million in charges, primarily severance and related costs.
August 2022 · More than 1,200 roles, 20 percent of the company, alongside slowed production on several products and the end of Pixy development
U.S. employees were told they'd get at least four months of compensation replacement plus help enrolling in COBRA.
How Snap's layoffs compare to other companies
Two of Snap's three rounds put a four-month measure in writing. August 2022 was at least four months of compensation replacement with COBRA assistance, and April 2026 was four months of severance with healthcare coverage, equity vesting and transition support. February 2024 has no terms on record, so it can't be lined up against either.
What to do after being laid off from Snap
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. Snap's biggest hubs: California, Washington. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what Snap's hub states run: California, Washington, and every other state is here.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.
Snap layoff and severance questions
What severance has Snap paid in its layoffs?
Two rounds have terms on record. Spiegel's memo in August 2022 set out at least four months of compensation replacement plus financial assistance to enroll in COBRA. The letter filed with Snap's April 2026 8-K set out four months of severance, healthcare coverage, and equity vesting, plus career transition support for U.S.-based staff. February 2024 has no severance terms on record. What you were offered is governed by your own agreement rather than by any of these.
Why did Snap cut 10% in 2024?
Snap's filing said it restructured to best position the business to execute on its highest priorities and to keep the capacity to invest in growth. A spokesperson told TechCrunch the reorganization was meant to reduce hierarchy and promote in-person collaboration. Neither framing came with published package terms, which is why 2022 and now 2026 carry the only Snap severance numbers on record.
Did Snap give 60 days' notice before the April 2026 layoffs?
That one is open. Snap's 8-K says it began notifying affected team members on April 15, 2026, the day it announced the plan, and our tracker holds California filings dated April 15 and a Washington filing dated April 16. Cal/WARN requires written notice 60 days before a mass layoff order takes effect, at California sites that have employed 75 or more people in the past year. On April 20, 2026 the law firm Strauss Borrelli said it was investigating whether Snap gave 247 Santa Monica employees that much notice. That investigation is open, not decided, and the record so far settles nothing.
Where did Snap cut jobs in 2026?
In two states, according to the filings our tracker holds. California carried a 247-job filing dated April 15, 2026 and a 73-job filing the same day. Washington carried a 95-job filing dated April 16 covering Bellevue, Seattle and Vancouver. That's 415 jobs across three filings, which isn't a full account of a plan Snap described as reaching about 1,000 team members worldwide.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from Snap?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. Snap's biggest U.S. hubs are California, Washington. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at Snap?
Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.
What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at Snap?
Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from Snap?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.