Meta to Cut Hundreds of Metaverse Jobs This Week
▼ Summary
– Meta’s Reality Labs division is laying off around 10% of its staff, with cuts focused on metaverse employees.
– These layoffs are linked to Meta shifting its focus and resources toward its artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions.
– The division’s head called a critical in-person meeting, following earlier reports of a planned 30% budget cut for the metaverse.
– Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses are gaining more attention than its VR headsets, overshadowing the metaverse division.
– The metaverse concept has struggled to achieve mainstream adoption, with many users considering the VR social platform defunct.
The technology giant Meta is reportedly preparing to announce significant job cuts within its Reality Labs division this week, a move that signals a strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence. According to a report from The New York Times, the layoffs will affect approximately 10 percent of the unit’s workforce, with the reductions heavily concentrated among employees working on the company’s metaverse initiatives. This restructuring appears to be a direct consequence of Meta’s intensified focus on AI development, which is drawing resources and attention away from its long-standing virtual reality ambitions.
The impending cuts were foreshadowed by an internal meeting called by Meta’s chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth. Bosworth, who oversees the roughly 15,000-person Reality Labs organization, reportedly urged staff to attend the Wednesday gathering in person, describing it as the “most important” meeting of the year. The news follows a Bloomberg report from last month indicating that Meta was planning to slash its metaverse budget by as much as 30 percent, suggesting these layoffs are part of a broader, planned contraction.
This shift away from the metaverse is occurring as Meta’s newer hardware, like its Ray-Ban smart glasses, gains more traction in the market compared to its VR headsets. Even without the competitive pressure from AI projects, the company’s flagship virtual social platform has faced an uphill battle for mainstream adoption. Public interest has waned considerably, with a widespread perception that the metaverse concept has failed to deliver on its initial promise.
The company has declined to provide official comment on the reported layoffs. The restructuring underscores the volatile nature of tech industry priorities, where massive investments can be rapidly reallocated as market dynamics and internal strategies evolve.
(Source: The Verge)
