Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has cut about 1,000 jobs from its virtual reality and metaverse division Reality Labs, as it reportedly prepares to shift resources toward AI wearables and mobile features.
The move was a “part of that effort,” and Meta plans to “reinvest the savings to support the growth of wearables this year,” Clayton added.
Meta’s cuts arrive as the first major tech layoff of 2026, after large workforce reductions tapered off late last year.
The move exposed early tension between Reality Labs’ mounting losses and investor pressure for efficiency, even as Meta insisted the strategy remained intact.
As capital tightened and interest rates rose, the scale of the bet became harder to justify, setting the stage for the company’s current shift away from its previously heavy metaverse investment.
Tech layoffs mount“Technology has been pivoting to both developing and implementing artificial intelligence much more quickly than any other industry. This, coupled with over-hiring over the last decade, created a wave of job loss in the industry,” the research firm wrote.
The tech sector led all private industries in layoffs last year, with job cuts rising 15% from 2024.
Among its FAANG peers, Meta’s move appears modest in scale.
Amazon accounted for the largest workforce reductions within the group over the past year, cutting tens of thousands of roles across retail, devices, and AWS through multiple rounds, per layoff data sourced from public reports.
Google and Microsoft implemented smaller but recurring layoffs, generally in the low thousands per round, tied to cost controls and AI-driven restructuring, while continuing to hire selectively in priority areas.
Apple largely avoided mass layoffs, relying instead on attrition and slower hiring, while Netflix made limited cuts, typically numbering in the hundreds, as it adjusted operations following changes to its password-sharing model.
Decrypt has reached out to Meta Platforms and the California Employment Development Department for comment and will update this story should they respond.
