Meta Axes 1,000+ Jobs, Shuts 3 VR Studios in Major Restructuring

• Meta confirms over 1,000 job cuts in its Reality Labs division and the closure of three virtual reality (VR) studios: Sanzaru Games, Twisted Pixel, and Armature Studio.
• The restructuring signals a strategic shift away from the costly metaverse pursuit towards artificial intelligence (AI) and wearable devices, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg now sees as key for growth.
• The layoffs impact roughly 10 percent of the hardware division, affecting Quest headsets and Horizon Worlds, with smaller units like Ouro Interactive and Supernatural fitness app team also scaled back.
• Supernatural, acquired in 2023 for $400 million, is now in "maintenance mode" with no new content updates, while Oculus Studios Central Technology has been dissolved.
• Meta is heavily investing in AI, with a reported $14.3 billion spent to bring in Alexandr Wang from Scale AI, and a significant increase in capital expenditure for AI infrastructure.

Why It Matters: Meta is dramatically shifting focus from VR and the metaverse to AI and wearable devices, leading to over 1,000 job cuts.