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3w ago

Meta Cuts Reality Labs Staff, Redirects Spending to AI and Wearables

The cuts reflect a pivot toward AI wearables following years of steep Reality Labs losses.

Meta is said to fire 1,500 employees from its Reality Labs unit
Meta will focus more on wearables going forward.
An aerial view of Meta’s headquarters on Jan. 29, 2025, in Menlo Park, Calif.
A bicyclist rides past a Meta sign outside of the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park on March 7, 2023. 

Overview

  • Layoff notifications began Jan. 13, with roughly 10% of Reality Labs affected—more than 1,000 roles out of about 15,000, according to an internal memo from CTO Andrew Bosworth.
  • Teams focused on VR headsets and the metaverse social platform face the largest reductions, while augmented‑reality and wearables groups are largely spared.
  • Meta is shutting down in‑house VR studios Armature, Sanzaru and Twisted Pixel, internal memos show, as it consolidates content efforts.
  • Horizon software work is being refocused toward mobile with AI creator tools, and VR will operate with a leaner structure and a narrower roadmap.
  • Savings will be reinvested in wearables and AI infrastructure, aligning with Meta’s Meta Compute plan for large‑scale AI capacity; Bosworth called a Jan. 14 all‑hands the year’s “most important.”