MENLO PARK, Calif. — Meta Platforms is preparing to cut about 10% of staff in its Reality Labs division, with job reductions expected to be announced as soon as Tuesday, according to multiple reports. The move would be Meta’s latest sign that spending priorities are tilting further toward artificial intelligence after years of costly metaverse investment, Jan. 13, 2026.
Meta Reality Labs layoffs: what the reports say
According to a Reuters report citing The New York Times, the cuts would disproportionately affect teams working on virtual reality headsets and virtual social networks inside the metaverse unit. Reality Labs employs roughly 15,000 people, so the Meta Reality Labs layoffs could reach about 1,500 workers if the reduction comes in at 10%.
Business Insider reported that internal expectations run higher in some scenarios — about 10% to 15% — and that managers have been encouraging employees to show up in person for a Wednesday all-hands meeting led by Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, which he described as the “most important” of the year. Meta declined to comment to Business Insider, and it did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
In a separate account, Bloomberg reported the workforce reduction fits a broader effort to shift resources away from some virtual reality products and into AI-focused wearables, following a push late last year to trim budgets inside the division.
Why the AI pivot is squeezing the metaverse bet
Reality Labs was built to deliver CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s long-term vision for a metaverse, but the effort has been expensive and slow to translate into a mass-market business. Reuters said Meta has burned more than $60 billion on metaverse-related work since 2020, even as the division also develops Quest mixed-reality headsets and Ray-Ban smart glasses made with EssilorLuxottica. Meta is also trying to stay competitive in the AI race after its Llama 4 model drew a poor reception, Reuters reported.
At the same time, attention inside the company — and among investors — has been drifting toward products seen as nearer-term bets, including AI-powered wearables. The Verge reported the looming Meta Reality Labs layoffs follow recent talk of tighter spending for metaverse projects, while smart-glasses momentum has increasingly stolen the spotlight from virtual reality.
Continuity check: previous Reality Labs cuts and financial pressure
The Meta Reality Labs layoffs would not be a first. In October 2023, Reuters reported Meta planned layoffs in a custom-silicon unit within Reality Labs as the company worked to rein in costs. In April 2024, Reuters reported the division lost $3.8 billion in a single quarter, putting it on pace to match its roughly $16 billion loss for 2023. By April 2025, The Verge reported Meta had already laid off an unspecified number of Reality Labs employees, including in Oculus Studios.
For now, key details about the latest Meta Reality Labs layoffs — including which teams will be hit and how deep cuts go beyond the 10% headline figure — remain unconfirmed by Meta. Employees and industry watchers will be looking for more clarity after Bosworth’s meeting and any formal announcement in the days ahead.
