Meta: Restructuring and layoffs at Reality Labs

Meta is splitting its Metaverse department Reality Labs into two divisions: Reality Labs will become a wearables group and a metaverse group, reports tech magazine The Verge. Jobs are also to be cut as part of the restructuring.

The Verge writes of a "relatively small number of jobs" that are now to be cut. However, Meta has already laid off more than 20,000 employees in the past two years, including in Germany.

The new structure should enable Meta to simplify product development across software and hardware, The Verge quotes from an internal letter from the company. This is particularly important because the VR headsets in the Quest series have now penetrated the mainstream. The time has now come to expand the software platform.

Specifically, the Metaverse group is to take care of the Quest glasses, while the Wearables department is to be responsible for the company's other hardware products – including the smart glasses from Meta and Ray-Ban, which, according to the internal letter, are more successful than hoped. Meta would not comment on the report.

Reality Labs, a billion-dollar grave

Meta's Reality Labs are known as a billion-dollar grave. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, Reality Labs made a loss of over 3.8 billion US dollars. In total, Reality Labs, which celebrated its tenth birthday in April, has incurred losses of over 50 billion US dollars.

Meta recently opened up its Quest operating system Meta Horizon OS to independent manufacturers. This should give consumers more choice and provide developers with a larger ecosystem, Meta wrote on the announcement. "We are working with the world's leading technology companies to bring this new ecosystem to life and make it even easier for developers to create apps and reach their target audiences on the platform."

(dahe)