Meta reportedly trims workforce at Reality Labs department
Facebook's Parent Company Meta Is Lopping Off Staff From Its Reality Labs Division Amid Restructuring
The tech giant Meta Platforms, the company behind Facebook, is giving the boot to an undisclosed number of employees from its Reality Labs division. The ouchie comes as part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at rejuvenating the division.
The pink slips have landed on teams within the company's in-house game development arm for Quest virtual reality headsets, known as Oculus Studios. Teams responsible for game titles like Supernatural, a VR fitness game, are amongst those on the chopping block.
"These redundancies are intended to help Studios operate more smoothly when crafting future mixed reality experiences for our burgeoning audience," a Meta spokesperson said.
As of December 31, 2024, Meta counted 74,067 employees on its global headcount.
Reality Labs, the division that's responsible for developing and marketing the Quest headset line, took a $5 billion hit during the fourth quarter. Despite this financial setback, CEO Mark Zuckerberg stays gung-ho about the company's long-term commitment to augmented and virtual reality technologies.
The restructuring in Oculus Studios is set to impact the development of VR games for Quest. Those affected by the cuts can apply for roles within the company. Meta's acquisition of the VR fitness app Supernatural in 2023 is also feeling the heat, with the layoffs reducing the frequency of new workout sessions provided to subscribers. However, each session will now feature multiple difficulty levels instead of just one, giving users more flexibility during their workout sessions. The app's coaching staff remains unaffected by the cuts.
The streamlining of operations is part of Meta's broader strategy to balance cost control with its metaverse ambitions while prioritizing long-term efficiency over short-term gains. The CTO, Andrew Bosworth, called 2025 "the most critical year" for the Reality Labs division, while Zuckerberg remains unflinchingly optimistic about the company's commitment to VR and AR technologies.
[1]metaverselatchkey.com/meta-cuts-jobs-reality-labs[2]arpost.co/meta-cuts-jobs-2025[3]vrfocus.com/2025/01/meta-cuts-jobs-reality-labs-supernatural
Here's some insider info:Standing at 74,067 employees on December 31, 2024, the layoffs within Meta's Reality Labs division affected teams working on Oculus Studios, the company's in-house game development for Quest headsets. The Supernatural VR fitness app also saw changes. With the layoffs, subscribers will get fewer weekly workout sessions, but each session will offer multiple difficulty levels instead of a single option. The app’s coaching staff remains untouched.
Reality Labs took a $5 billion hit in Q4 2024, despite racking up $1 billion in sales. Affected employees can apply for other roles within the company, but the specific number of layoffs remains undisclosed. 2025 marks a crucial year for the Reality Labs division, with Meta's CTO calling it "the most critical year," while CEO Mark Zuckerberg defends the cuts as necessary to "raise the bar on performance."
The restructuring within Meta's Reality Labs division reflects the company's efforts to balance cost control with its metaverse ambitions, prioritizing long-term efficiency over short-term output.
- The restructuring in Meta's Reality Labs division resulted in the layoff of an undisclosed number of employees from the Oculus Studios team, which is responsible for developing games for the Quest virtual reality headsets.
- As a result of the restructuring, the frequency of VR fitness sessions offered by the Supernatural app, acquired by Meta in 2023, will decrease, but each session will now offer multiple difficulty levels.
- Despite the $5 billion loss in Q4 2024, Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is remaining committed to virtual and augmented reality technologies, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg describing the cuts as necessary to "raise the bar on performance."
- The layoffs within Meta's Reality Labs division have been a part of the company's broader strategy to balance cost control with its metaverse ambitions, prioritizing long-term efficiency over short-term gains, with 2025 marked as a critical year for the Reality Labs division.
