Meta has kicked off another round of layoffs and this one hit its Reality Labs organization the division that houses the company’s virtual and augmented reality technologies. The job reductions applied to workers at Oculus Studios, the division focused on VR games and content for Meta’s Quest headsets.
The layoffs were reported earlier by The Verge and later confirmed by CNBC. Meta did not reveal how many employees would be affected by the job cuts, but they are part of the company’s overall efforts to reorganize its teams and refine its focus on the future of mixed reality.
In a statement, a Meta spokesperson described the moves as part of a plan to enable Oculus Studios to “work more efficiently on future mixed reality experiences for our growing audience.”
The change hasn’t come without a human toll, it has had an especially severe impact on developers who were building on the company’s more well-known VR efforts, like the Supernatural fitness app.
“Their work helped make this show what it is, and made the brothers who they are,” the group wrote in a note shared to Facebook with the Official Supernatural group, adding “the brothers’ support of one another and the family they have created, which we have come to know so well, is the very story they have helped create.”
These new job cuts come after Meta earlier this year said it would cut about 5% of its staff, focusing on so-called low performers. The moves are the latest example of the company’s continued push to contain costs and trim the fat, especially in experimental areas like Reality Labs.
Onto the metaverse Reality Labs, the division at the forefront of Meta’s metaverse push, has felt increasing financial pressure. This single division saw an operating loss of $4.97 billion and revenue of $1.1 billion in Q4 2024.Those numbers demonstrate just how risky a long-term bet Meta had placed on immersive computing.
Writh Meta’s next earnings around the corner and set to be announced this Wednesday, industry watchers and investors alike are likely to keep an eye on how the company is changing its strategy in the VR and AR markets as tech rivals like Apple and Samsung begin to put more effort into their own mixed reality products.
