Meta Lays Off Another 5000 Staff In 'Final' Major Wave, Including From AR/VR Division
Reportedly, around 5000 staff are affected in this round. Two policy managers from the Reality Labs AR/VR division confirmed on LinkedIn that they were let go today, as did many more employees from other parts of the company. Unlike the previous two waves, however, we haven't yet seen any reports of AR/VR layoffs from technical roles.
The first round of major layoffs took place back in November, cutting 11,000 employees - 13 percent of its workforce at the time - including some Reality Labs engineers and designers.
In April, the second wave occurred as as part of the "year of efficiency" Mark Zuckerberg had declared to investors in February, cutting another 4000 or so roles. It included developers from two of Meta's acquired VR game studios, Ready at Dawn and Downpour Interactive.
Zuckerberg described 2022 as a “humbling wake-up call” for Meta, citing declining macroeconomic conditions reducing overall advertising spend and the increased competition from TikTok. "I think we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that this new economic reality will continue for many years", he told staff.
