2026-01-13 08:59:56

Meta to Lay Off About 10% of Metaverse Team as AI Becomes the Main Focus

Meta is planning to cut around 10% of its Reality Labs staff – that's roughly 1,500 jobs out of about 15,000. The cuts will mostly affect teams working on VR headsets and the metaverse platform Horizon Worlds.

The company is shifting a lot of its attention and money toward AI, including advanced AI systems and smart glasses. Reality Labs has already lost more than $70 billion since 2020, and the metaverse hasn't caught on as much as hoped – especially when you compare it to platforms like Roblox or Fortnite.

CTO Andrew Bosworth has called an important in-person meeting soon, which could be when the layoffs are officially announced. Meta didn't comment on the report, but it's clear they're moving away from heavy metaverse spending and putting more into AI.

For investors, this might help AI projects grow faster, but it also shows how tough it has been to make the metaverse work.

What do you think? Is the metaverse idea finished, or is it just taking a break while AI takes center stage?

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