Meta is reportedly planning to lay off around 10 percent of employees in its Reality Labs division, which focuses on products linked to the metaverse and immersive technologies. According to a report by a global newspaper, the decision could be announced as early as Tuesday and is expected to impact teams working on virtual reality headsets and virtual social platforms the most.
Reality Labs currently employs nearly 15,000 people. Sources familiar with the matter said the job cuts would mainly affect the metaverse unit, which has been a key project for Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg. The company has invested heavily in this vision of a digital universe of connected virtual spaces, but the business has reportedly lost more than 60 billion dollars since 2020.
Besides metaverse related projects, the Reality Labs division also develops Quest mixed reality headsets, smart glasses made in partnership with Ray Ban, and augmented reality glasses.
While Meta has struggled to gain widespread support for its metaverse concept, it has seen some early success with its smart glasses. This comes at a time when competitors such as Google and Apple have not yet made strong inroads into the same market.
The report also said that Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, who oversees Reality Labs, has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday and asked employees to attend in person. This was mentioned in an internal memo shared with staff.
Meta has not yet issued an official response to a request for comment.
The development comes as the Facebook parent company works to remain competitive in the fast moving artificial intelligence space. Its recent Llama 4 model reportedly received a muted response, adding pressure on the company to refocus its priorities.
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