Meta's metaverse division lays off 1,500 people; Singapore office may be affected | Lianhe Zaobao

Facebook's parent company Meta is scaling back its "metaverse" division, Reality Labs, reportedly cutting about 1,500 positions. Some employees in this division are based in Singapore, and some positions may be affected. According to Bloomberg, the layoffs are due to Meta shifting resources towards developing features for artificial intelligence (AI) wearable devices and mobile phones. The affected employees primarily work in Reality Labs on virtual reality (VR) related businesses, accounting for about 10% of the total department size, approximately 1,500 people. Reports indicate that affected employees began receiving layoff notifications starting Tuesday (January 13) US time. The Straits Times learned through the professional social platform LinkedIn that some Reality Labs employees are based in Singapore, with roles including channel sales, business-to-business commerce, and extended reality (XR) solutions architects. Among them, local employees posted on Thursday (15th) stating that they were laid off. As of the time of publication, Meta Singapore has not responded to The Straits Times' inquiries regarding the number of affected employees and whether other departments are involved. According to an internal announcement from Meta's Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, cited by Bloomberg, Meta is adjusting its focus in the metaverse business towards mobile devices and plans to reduce investments in the virtual reality sector to make the business more sustainable. Products managed by Reality Labs include VR headsets, AI glasses, and virtual world products, but since early 2021, this division has lost over $70 billion (approximately SGD 90.2 billion) due to significant investments that have not yielded substantial returns. Further Reading Meta plans to acquire Singapore-based AI company Manus with a valuation of over $2.5 billion [Altman: Meta offers $100 million signing bonus to poach OpenAI employees ![](https://dss0.zbstatic5.com/s3fs-public/styles/article_small_crop/public/articles/2025/06/18/2025-06-03T100047Z66062538RC2VQCAODNKHRTRMADP3TECH-AI-CODE-GENERATION_2.JPG? In 2021, after Meta announced its bet on the metaverse track, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg also announced the company's name change from "Facebook" to "Meta," echoing the English name of the metaverse, "Metaverse." However, it was reported that one year after the name change and transformation, Meta's metaverse department flagship product "Horizon Worlds" failed to gain user favor, with monthly active users once falling below 200,000. In December 2025, Meta executives discussed cutting the metaverse department's budget by as much as 30% and reallocating more funds to projects like AI glasses. With the rise of the AI craze, Meta has been continuously increasing its investment in AI. In addition to capital expenditures, Meta had poached talent from other tech companies like Apple and OpenAI in 2025, offering salaries often exceeding tens of millions of dollars, attracting industry attention. Additionally, at the end of last year, Meta acquired the AI startup Manus, founded by a Chinese team and headquartered in Singapore, for a valuation of over 2.5 billion. However, it was reported that Manus is currently under review by Chinese authorities due to this transaction, and there remains uncertainty about whether the deal can be completed smoothly