Meta is planning to lay off around 10% of the employees in its Reality Labs division, The New York Times reported Monday.
The division — which employs roughly 15,000 people — has a strong presence in the Seattle area and is responsible for the company’s “metaverse” technologies that work in conjunction with augmented and virtual reality, including for products such as VR headsets and a VR-based social network.
The Times cited people with knowledge of the layoff discussions, which the newspaper said come at a time when the company is shifting priorities to build next-generation artificial intelligence.
A Meta spokesperson declined to comment when reached by GeekWire.
Business Insider reported that Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, the head of Reality Labs, called an all-hands meeting for Wednesday. Sources told BI that employees were strongly encouraged to attend in person.
Reality Labs currently represents about 19% of Meta’s total global workforce of roughly 78,000.
Meta employs thousands of people across multiple offices in the Seattle region, one of its largest engineering hubs outside Menlo Park, Calif. Last October, the company laid off more than 100 employees in Washington state as part of a broader round of cuts within its artificial intelligence division.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited a Reality Labs facility in Redmond in 2022 to demonstrate how wearables such as wristbands can control devices with small muscle movements.
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries cited Meta in November 2022 for alleged safety violations in a cleanroom at Meta’s “Matrix” facility in Redmond. The specially designed space was engineered to filter pollutants such as dust, airborne microbes, and aerosol particles. In January 2024 the state ordered the room shut down.
