Meta Cuts Jobs, Backs Out of Metaverse

0:00It's March 26th. This is Vancouver News today, local news powered by AI. Meta has laid off workers across several teams, including its reality labs, virtual reality division, Facebook, recruiting, and sales. These global cuts come as the company pulls back hard from its metaverse ambitions, once seen as the future with Seattle playing a central role. Earlier this week, Meta announced it would mostly shut down its Horizon World's app for VR sets by June, though it plans to keep supporting existing content. This shift follows pandemic era hype when CEO Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook to Meta and bet big on a parallel virtual world for users and businesses. The moves hit hard in reality labs, which has lost nearly $77 billion since the 2021 rebrand compared to over $352 billion in profits from apps like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Employees affected are being offered other roles where possible.

1:02In Seattle, Meta once grew to more than 8,000 workers across neighborhoods like South Lake Union and the East Side after buying Oculus. But now it's backing out of office leases, letting expansion plans lapse, and leaving projects like a second Gary Building and Redmond on hold. Meanwhile, Meta ramps up spinning between $115 billion and $135 billion this year on AI data centers and wearables like smart glasses, marking a clear pivot away from the Metaverse path.