Meta plans to lay off hundreds of metaverse employees this week

Meta’s Reality Labs team is expected to lose around 10% of its staff, with layoffs focused on the division’s Metaverse employees, as reported The New York Times. The layoffs are apparently a side effect of Meta’s AI ambitions, which are drawing attention away from its virtual reality division.

According to the TimesMeta’s chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth called a meeting on Wednesday which he “urged staff to attend in person”, saying it would be the “most important” meeting of the year. Bosworth oversees the Reality Labs division, which employs about 15,000 people. Unfortunately, the layoffs within Meta’s VR team may not come as a surprise: last month, Bloomberg reported that Meta plans to cut its metaverse budget by 30 percent.

Meta declined to comment.