Meta Reportedly Lays Off Hundreds Across Facebook, Reality Labs, and Other Divisions

On Wednesday, Meta started laying off several hundred employees across key divisions, according to a report by The Information. Later in the day, CNBC confirmed that the layoffs affect employees in Facebook’s global operations, recruiting, sales, and Reality Labs departments.

Layoffs spread across core Meta departments

Reality Labs, Meta’s virtual reality unit, is among the teams seeing job cuts, alongside core business areas like Facebook and sales. Meta says some affected employees are being offered alternative roles within the company. However, these positions may require relocation, suggesting limited flexibility for those impacted. The company says the layoffs are part of regular restructuring efforts to better align teams with its long-term goals.

Speaking with CNBC, a Meta spokesperson confirmed, “Teams across Meta regularly restructure or implement changes to ensure they’re in the best position to achieve their goals. Where possible, we are finding other opportunities for employees whose positions may be impacted.”

While layoffs continue in some areas, Meta is actively bringing in talent focused on generative AI and AI agents. That’s not all; Meta is also offering new stock incentives for top executives, as it looks to compensate them for long-term performance as the company leans further into AI.

The company has already cut jobs within Reality Labs earlier this year

For those unaware, this isn’t the first layoff round within Meta this year. In January, the company had already cut over 1,000 jobs within Reality Labs, impacting roughly 10% of that division. The latest round appears small but is still significant, especially given the spread across multiple departments.

Earlier this month, the company also confirmed that the VR version of Horizon Worlds is being discontinued. However, the company partially reversed its plan to shut down the VR version of Horizon Worlds, saying existing VR worlds will remain available “for the foreseeable future.”

Meta’s AI plans for this year

Mark Zuckerberg, who is reportedly developing a CEO AI agent, has recently been quite vocal about the company’s plans for this year. The company has internally been working on a new AI model, codenamed Avocado. Though it was previously scheduled to launch this month, it has now been delayed to May or June due to some performance issues. Meta, having poured billions of dollars into AI development, is aggressively trying to keep pace with rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.