Meta plans to lay off hundreds of metaverse employees this week

Meta’s Reality Labs squad is expected to suffer astir 10 percent of its staff, pinch layoffs concentrated connected the division’s metaverse employees, arsenic reported by The New York Times. The layoffs are apparently a broadside effect of Meta’s AI ambitions, which are pulling attraction distant from its virtual reality division.

According to the Times, Meta’s main exertion officer, Andrew Bosworth, called a gathering for Wednesday that he “urged unit to be successful person,” saying it will beryllium the “most important” gathering of the year. Bosworth oversees the Reality Labs division, which employs astir 15,000 people. Unfortunately, layoffs to Meta’s VR squad whitethorn not travel arsenic a astonishment — past month, Bloomberg reported Meta was readying to cut its metaverse budget by 30 percent.

The layoffs to the metaverse squad travel arsenic Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses progressively bargain the spotlight from its VR headsets. Even if AI wasn’t Meta’s apical privilege correct now, the metaverse itself has besides struggled to drawback on complete the years, and galore users look to already deliberation the VR societal level is dead.

Meta declined to comment.