Meta layoffs: Facebook-parent begins job cuts in Reality Labs division, CTO Andrew Bosworth says ‘we are shifting…’

Facebook parent company Meta has begun restructuring of its Reality Labs division, initiating job cuts that are expected to impact more than 1,000 employees, a report has said. According to Bloomberg, affected employees were notified starting Tuesday morning (January 13 US time) following an internal memo from Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Andrew Bosworth. The report claims that in the post, Bosworth called the cuts as a necessary step to create a “more sustainable” business model for the division. It also signals a strategic backstep from the company’s focus on the “metaverse” in favour of opportunities in Artificial Intelligence (AI) wearables and mobile integration. “With the larger potential user base and the fastest growth rate today, we are shifting teams and resources almost exclusively to mobile to continue to accelerate adoption there,” Bosworth wrote, according to Bloomberg report.Reality Labs has been the primary focus for Meta’s virtual and augmented reality ambitions but the unit has bled billions since its inception. The division reportedly employs roughly 15,000 workers. While the company has not officially confirmed the total number of departures, the report suggest the reduction will hit approximately 10% of the division's workforce.A Meta spokesperson confirmed the shift in strategy, noting that the company had previously signaled a shift from purely virtual environments toward wearable technology, like Ray-Ban Meta Glasses.“We said last month that we were shifting some of our investment from metaverse toward wearables. This is part of that effort, and we plan to reinvest the savings to support the growth of wearables this year,” the spokesperson told Bloomberg.Meanwhile, a separate report claims that Meta and EssilorLuxottica are considering doubling the production capacity of smart glasses to 20 million units annually by the end of this year. Bloomberg News reported that the potential increase is driven by strong demand, and may also see capacity exceed 30 million units.