Belt-tightening at Snap leading to layoffs, grounds Pixy drone

Snap management is making some difficult choices in the wake of disappointing financial results. Sandwiched between the short video war between Instagram and TikTok, “Camea company” Snap is reportedly undergoing cost-cutting measures, including the cancellation of its Pixy personal selfie drone. The $230 Pixy drone, while still available on the Snap website, was introduced at the end of April during Snap’s annual partner summit with plans to sell a limited quantity of them.

The Verge reported Snap is planning to lay off 20 percent of its roughly 6,400 full-time employees, with the departments working on hardware and mini-apps and games said to be most severely affected by the imminent job cuts.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Snap’s slow-growing ad business was impacted by a slowing global market, intense competition from other short-form (or “snackable”) video apps, and Apple’s new App Tracking Transparency feature, which has made it harder to sell online advertising. Snap’s share price is down nearly 80 percent this year, signaling investors’ low confidence in the company’s ability to turn things around.

A sample Pixy video is shown below: