Meta is downsizing its digital actuality division.
Meta confirmed to The Verge on Thursday that it had laid off an undisclosed variety of staff in its digital actuality and {hardware} unit, Actuality Labs. The layoffs impacted groups engaged on video games for Meta’s Quest virtual reality headsets and the division that constructed the favored digital actuality fitness app Supernatural.
A note on the official Supernatural neighborhood Fb group of greater than 112,000 members confirmed the layoffs.
“We’re deeply saddened to share that [organizational] adjustments have resulted within the lack of a few of our extremely proficient staff members,” the publish, which was shared on Thursday, learn.
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The publish goes on to say that the variety of exercises launched on Supernatural per week would lower due to the layoffs and the ensuing smaller variety of individuals engaged on the app.
A consumer performs Supernatural. Photograph by Randy Shropshire/Getty Pictures for Meta Platforms Applied sciences LLC
Meta acquired Inside Limitless, the digital actuality startup behind Supernatural, in February 2023 for greater than $400 million after successfully fighting a authorities antitrust lawsuit.
The tech firm conducted a spherical of performance-based layoffs in February, chopping 5% of its 72,000-person world workforce, or about 3,600 staff. Some fired Meta staff claimed they’d a observe document of excellent efficiency and had been shocked by the layoffs.
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The performance-based cuts impacted no less than 560 staff who labored in Meta’s digital actuality division, in response to paperwork seen by Business Insider. A memo obtained by the outlet in February from Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth famous that 2025 was a make-or-break 12 months for the corporate’s digital actuality efforts.
“We have to drive gross sales, retention and engagement throughout the board,” Bosworth wrote within the memo.
As of the top of February, Meta had fired shut to 2 dozen staff for leaking inside memos, assembly recordings and different firm info to the press.
Meta’s digital actuality choices are in style. Meta had bought close to 20 million Quest headsets as of February 2023. It launched the $499 Quest 3 in October 2023 and bought no less than one million units of the digital actuality headset as of June 2024.
Nevertheless, Meta’s digital actuality efforts are costly and have resulted in $60 billion in losses for the corporate since 2020. In its latest earnings report, launched in January, Meta famous that its Actuality Labs unit generated $1.1 billion in gross sales within the fourth quarter of 2024 however recorded an working lack of $4.97 billion.
