Meta laid off staff on Thursday in its Actuality Labs division, which encompasses varied digital and augmented actuality tasks. The cuts influence staff inside Oculus Studios, which develops apps and video games for Meta’s Quest headsets.
Meta didn’t specify how many individuals have been impacted by the layoffs, however mentioned that the cuts impacted individuals engaged on Quest merchandise together with Supernatural, a VR train app. Meta acquired Inside, the corporate that makes Supernatural, in 2023.
“Some groups inside Oculus Studios are present process shifts in construction and roles which have impacted crew measurement,” Meta instructed TechCrunch in an announcement. “These modifications are supposed to assist Studios work extra effectively on future blended actuality experiences for our rising viewers, whereas nonetheless delivering nice content material for individuals at the moment.”
Actuality Labs has been an enormous value for Meta, losing almost $5 billion within the final quarter of 2024 whereas producing about $1 billion in gross sales. Meta has reported billions of {dollars} in working losses on Actuality Labs every year since rebranding from Fb and emphasizing its dedication to the “metaverse.”
These layoffs come upfront of Meta’s first quarter earnings report subsequent week, when the corporate might face scrutiny for the mounting prices of Actuality Labs.
Meta instructed TechCrunch that laid off staff may have the chance to use for different jobs on the firm.
For Supernatural customers, the layoffs imply that the app will produce fewer new exercises per week. Nonetheless, every particular person exercise will probably be out there at a greater variety of ability ranges, as a substitute of only one problem stage per exercise. The app additionally mentioned in a Facebook post that the coaches who run the app’s exercises is not going to be impacted by the layoffs.