Meta Cuts 10% of Reality Labs Team

13 Jan 2026 Meta’s Reality Labs is expected to cut roughly 10% of its workforce this week, with layoffs concentrated on teams working on the metaverse, according to reporting cited by The Verge from The New York Times. Company sources say the reductions are a byproduct of Meta shifting priorities toward AI, which has pulled focus and funding away from virtual-reality projects. Meta’s chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth reportedly called a Wednesday meeting he “urged staff to attend in person,” calling it the “most important” meeting of the year. Bosworth oversees Reality Labs, a division that employs about 15,000 people. The moves follow a Bloomberg report last month that Meta planned to cut its metaverse budget by around 30%. The cuts come as hardware like Meta’s Ray‑Ban smart glasses increasingly receive attention compared with the company’s VR headsets. Observers note the metaverse has struggled to gain mainstream traction over the years, and many users already view VR social platforms as stalled. Meta declined to comment on the latest reports. Source