Meta’s Reality Labs Cuts 1,500 Jobs as Metaverse Strategy Shifts to AI
Meta Platforms Inc. is slashing 10% of its Reality Labs workforce—approximately 1,500 employees—marking another retreat from its metaverse ambitions. The division, which has burned through $70 billion since 2020, reported $4.4 billion in operating losses last quarter alone.
The layoffs signal a strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence and wearables, including smart glasses. Horizon Worlds, Meta’s flagship metaverse platform, struggles with fewer than 900 daily active users, while blockchain-based virtual worlds languish with minimal engagement.
Resources are being reallocated to Meta’s Neural Band and other AI projects. The cuts follow years of unchecked spending on virtual reality hardware and software that failed to gain mainstream traction.
