Meta just laid off 1,000+ Reality Labs employees, shifting focus from metaverse goals to big bets on AI wearables and smart phone tech.
Meta is back in the layoff headlines, and this time it is letting go of over 1,000 people from its Reality Labs division. That is roughly 10 per cent of the team behind the company’s big metaverse dreams. Why? Because Meta is now all in on artificial intelligence, especially AI‑powered wearables and phone features.
This is not Meta’s first major cut. In 2025 alone, the tech giant already said goodbye to about 3,600 employees through performance-based exits. Since 2022, Meta has trimmed down its workforce by tens of thousands.
But here is the twist, a lot of these cuts are not because AI is already replacing jobs. According to Gartner research, only about 1 per cent of 2025’s layoffs were directly caused by AI making teams more efficient. Instead, companies like Meta are cutting people now based on what they think AI might do in the future. That puts HR teams in a really tricky spot as they make decisions based on outcomes that have not yet happened.
Gartner’s Kaelyn Lowmaster puts it clearly. “We are seeing organisations reduce their workforce based on optimism about AI’s potential, not evidence of its performance.” She even warned that some companies could soon be hiring back for roles they just cut.
Meta’s shift highlights how messy workforce planning can get when tech trends move fast. The company went big on the metaverse, hired loads of people to build it, and now it is pivoting to AI hardware and letting those people go.
HR leaders are now facing two big challenges. First, handling layoffs without damaging the company’s reputation. Second, rebuilding teams that actually align with fast-changing business goals. Gartner calls this “talent remix,” a strategy that focuses on reshaping the workforce instead of just reducing headcount.
One thing is clear. Companies betting on AI need to back up their strategy with real planning and not just future hype.
