Meta Confirms Reality Labs Layoffs and Shift to Increased Wearables Investment

2026-01-14

Bloomberg reports that Meta's Reality Labs division, responsible for XR product development, is set to initiate layoffs affecting approximately 10% of its workforce starting Tuesday.

Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton confirmed the restructuring in an interview with The Verge, stating, "Last month, we indicated a shift in investment focus from the metaverse toward wearables. This adjustment is part of that strategic realignment, with planned savings to be reinvested to bolster wearable device growth this year."

In recent years, Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses have drawn significant attention away from VR headsets, particularly following the launch of the Meta Ray-Ban Display last year. As highlighted in Bloomberg's Tuesday report, Meta may aim to double production capacity for AI-powered smart glasses by late 2026 to meet rising demand. Consequently, the company's increased emphasis on wearables, coupled with a reduced focus on the largely overlooked metaverse, comes as little surprise.

Nevertheless, Meta has not abandoned the metaverse entirely. According to Bloomberg, an internal memo from Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth outlined a strategic pivot for the metaverse. Moving forward, the metaverse will transition from being a VR-centric social platform to one with a greater emphasis on mobile accessibility.

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comma voice

Comma is a voice input and speech-to-text app for iPhone, iPad, and Android. Hold to speak, slide out to pause without ending the note, and slide back when the thought returns. On-device recognition keeps working offline.