Meta trims Reality Labs workforce as over 1,000 jobs vanish in strategic shift
Meta’s latest Reality Labs layoffs leave more than 1,000 workers searching for new roles as the company pivots from metaverse to AI.
Meta Platforms has begun another significant round of layoffs, this time hitting the heart of its Reality Labs division — the team behind its virtual reality, augmented reality, and metaverse ambitions. More than 1,000 employees have been affected, sparking a visible surge of “Open to Work” posts on LinkedIn as former Meta staff seek new opportunities.
According to a famous publication report, these cuts account for nearly 10 percent of Reality Labs’ workforce, which numbers close to 15,000 people. Employees started receiving layoff notifications on Tuesday morning, a development later confirmed in an internal message from Meta’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth.
The job reductions are part of a broader strategic shift underway at Meta. The company is moving resources away from long-term metaverse projects and instead focusing more heavily on artificial intelligence–driven products, particularly wearables and enhanced smartphone features. As a Meta spokesperson told a famous publication, “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.”
A major outcome of this restructuring is the shutdown of three of Meta’s in-house VR studios — Armature, Sanzaru, and Twisted Pixel. These studios were responsible for several popular titles and experiences built for Meta’s Quest VR platform. Five other studios, including Camouflaj, Glassworks, Games, BigBox and OURO, will continue operating, suggesting that Meta is not abandoning VR entirely, but is narrowing its focus.
The impact of the closures was quickly reflected across social media, particularly LinkedIn. Employees from the affected studios began sharing emotional updates about their sudden exits and future plans. Game designer Mitchio Porter, who spent six years at Armature and worked his way up from QA, said he is now looking for roles across game design, development and prototyping after what he called an “unfortunate termination.”
Senior character artist Kat Webster also confirmed the studio’s closure, writing, “It was a great ride at Armature games (Meta) but unfortunately the studio was closed down today.” She added that she is now searching for a new senior character artist role.
Veteran developer Frank Ward, who had worked at Armature for over a decade and has more than 25 years in the video game industry, shared that he too was impacted. While open to exploring “something new,” he made it clear that building games remains his passion.
The layoffs have extended beyond game development teams. Jake Steinerman, a developer advocate at Meta Reality Labs, said his “dream job” had come to an end. He is now seeking roles in developer advocacy, relations, or community-focused positions in XR, AR, VR or AI. Similarly, Jack Chen, a technical lead at Oculus VR, confirmed he had been affected and is now open to leadership roles in production and technical program management.
One striking aspect of these cuts is their reach across experience levels. From relatively new hires to long-serving employees with eight to ten years at Meta, no group appears to have been spared, underlining that the layoffs are driven by changing business priorities rather than individual performance.
Financial pressure has played a key role in Meta’s decision. Reality Labs has been a consistent source of heavy losses, most recently reporting a $4.4 billion loss in October, despite generating $470 million in revenue. With these latest cuts, Meta is clearly signalling a more cautious, focused approach as it realigns its future around AI-powered devices rather than expansive metaverse bets.
