Snap Inc. is planning to lay off around 20 per cent of its nearly 6,500 employees following weeks of planning, the Verge reported. 

Job cuts will begin on Wednesday with the team working on Minis, small applications made by third-parties which run in the Snapchat app, affected the most, the report said. Zenly, the company Snap acquired in 2017 for social mapping, will also be affected by the workforce reduction. 

A Snap spokesperson declined to comment to The Verge.

Snap shares fell 2.5 per cent to US$10.01 at the close in New York. The stock has slumped 79 per cent this year as the company has faced a slowdown in advertiser spending on the platform. Due to the uncertainty, Snap told investors in July that it wouldn’t offer specific guidance for the current quarter.

To weather the business environment, the company has said it will focus on three main priorities: growing the user base, improving direct-response advertising business and how it measures ad spending and finding new sources of revenue.