Snap tightens its belt and it seems that it lowers costs in projects that do not have an assured future. In addition to laying off a fifth of its workforce, Snap will also shut down “Yellow,” its start-up accelerator program.

As we just reported, Snap is laying off 20% of its staff. Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel sent out a memo on Wednesday, confirming that the company wants to increase revenue and limit spending “to generate free cash flow even in a low-growth scenario.” The company plans to put its efforts behind Augmented Reality projects.

As part of the cost reduction campaign, any “projects that do not directly contribute to these areas will be discontinued or receive substantially reduced investment.” Although the layoffs were confirmed, it was not clear what Spiegel was referring to when he made the statement about terminating or reducing funding for the projects.

It is now clear that Snap will shut down Yellow, its startup accelerator program. The company launched Yellow in 2018. Since then, Snap has welcomed five batches of startup founders. In April this year, Snap welcomed its fifth batch, consisting of eight startups.

Through Yellow, Snap has offered a financial infusion of $150,000, along with mentoring from industry executives and startup veterans. Yellow had been accepting applicants for its Fall 2022 cohort. The platform halted the application process on July 29. Confirming the closure of the accelerator program, a Snap spokesperson said:

Snap will not bring a fall 2022 class and will halt Yellow’s program operations. We are proud of the success our Yellow alumni have achieved, and we thank all of the founders who applied to this fall’s accelerator for their time.

Almost all industries have been changing their strategy to get through the uncertain times ahead. Several tech giants have already confirmed that they will slow down hiring or lay off employees.

Via: Business Insider