Meta lays off Reality Labs employees while continuing to hire hundreds more

• Meta laid off employees in Reality Labs amid restructuring efforts in hardware and VR.
• The layoffs affected Oculus Studios and Supernatural, Meta's VR gaming and fitness apps.
• Meta's Reality Labs faces a critical year as it aims to succeed in metaverse ambitions.

Meta laid off an undisclosed number of employees in Reality Labs, its hardware and virtual reality division, this week as part of a broader restructuring effort.

The cuts affect Oculus Studios, the company's in-house gaming division for Quest headsets, and the team behind Supernatural, the VR fitness app Meta acquired for over $400 million.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed the changes, saying that "some teams within Oculus Studios are undergoing shifts in structure and roles that have impacted team size." The spokesperson added that the company remains "committed to investing in mixed reality experiences, including fitness and games."

The Supernatural team confirmed in a Facebook post that the changes will mean fewer weekly workouts for the app's subscribers.

These layoffs follow a broader reduction earlier this year. In January, Meta announced it would eliminate nearly 4,000 roles as CEO Mark Zuckerberg sought to "raise the bar on performance." Documents previously obtained by Business Insider showed that performance-based cuts affected at least 560 employees who worked in Meta's Reality Labs. Nearly half were on Meta's Horizon team.

In a memo obtained by BI earlier this year, Meta CTO and Reality Labs chief Andrew Bosworth called 2025 "the most critical" year in his eight-year tenure at Reality Labs.

"This year likely determines whether this entire effort will go down as the work of visionaries or a legendary misadventure," he wrote. Bosworth also said that Horizon Worlds on mobile must succeed for the company's long-term metaverse ambitions to survive.

In January, Meta reorganized its Reality Labs division. Meta's COO, Javier Olivan, now leads the team previously run by former Reality Labs COO Dan Reed. Other leaders in Reality Labs also now report to top executives in Meta's main business, showing that the company is making this division a bigger focus.

Although Meta is cutting staff, 495 roles remained open in Reality Labs, according to the company's careers site. A spokesperson told BI that affected employees are eligible for internal opportunities, and many have already been matched to open positions for interviews.

"If you choose not to look for another role at Meta or are unsuccessful in finding a new role, your termination date will be May 23, 2025," an internal email to one affected employee viewed by BI said.

The Verge earlier reported on these cuts.

Have a tip? Contact Pranav Dixit via email at pdixit@insider.com or Signal at +1408-905-9124 or WhatsApp at +1857-753-3949. Contact Jyoti Mann via email at jmann@businessinsider.com or Signal at jyotimann.11. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.