Meta Lays Off 100+ at Reality Labs, Streamlines VR

Meta Platforms has laid off more than 100 employees from its Reality Labs division, with the cuts affecting teams in Oculus Studios and those developing VR experiences and hardware for Quest headsets. Staff working on the Supernatural VR fitness app are impacted, with the app set to offer fewer new workouts but increased difficulty options, while coaches remain unaffected. The restructuring is intended to boost efficiency and eliminate overlapping efforts as Reality Labs posted nearly $5 billion in losses against $1 billion in sales in the last quarter of 2024. These layoffs come ahead of Meta's upcoming earnings report and follow a previous reduction of 5% of its workforce in February. The company has faced public criticism over its layoff practices, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains committed to AR and VR technologies and plans to expand offerings like the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Affected employees can apply for other positions within Meta.