Meta has begun cutting jobs in its Reality Labs division and is shifting focus from broad metaverse bets to wearable devices and mobile AI. The company plans to reduce staff in Reality Labs by about ten percent and to move many teams and resources toward mobile and wearable products. The change follows years of heavy losses in the metaverse unit and a push to make the business more sustainable.
Reality Labs Cuts
Reality Labs will shrink and run a tighter roadmap to lower costs. The unit has lost tens of billions of dollars since 2020, and leadership told staff that the company must prioritize projects with faster paths to scale and revenue. The cuts will mostly affect groups working on virtual reality headsets and on the social VR platform. Meta will keep teams that support wearable products and other promising hardware efforts.
An internal memo from the chief technology officer made the shift clear. Leadership said mobile platforms will get priority because they reach many more people today and scale faster than dedicated VR hardware. The memo also asked teams to focus on a narrower set of features and to deliver in a more efficient way as the company rebalances investment toward AI-enabled devices.
Wearables And Mobile
Meta will continue to develop wearable products such as the Ray Ban smart glasses and related experiences. The company and its partner are also discussing higher production targets for the smart glasses as demand grows. Meta hopes that a focus on wearables and on mobile apps will yield a stronger business model than a heavy bet on immersive virtual worlds.
The shift does not mean Meta will abandon VR entirely. The company will keep a smaller XR roadmap and will aim for greater sustainability in its headset work. Projects that were intended to be large, long-term investments will be narrowed and paced against realistic timelines for adoption and for manufacturing readiness. That change may delay or alter future headset releases and features.