Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repositioned the social media giant as an AI company.
Vincent Feuray | AFP | Getty Images
Meta Platforms shares popped about 4% higher on Thursday after Bloomberg reported that CEO Mark Zuckerberg was looking to make significant cuts to the company’s metaverse resources.
Bloomberg said that executives have considered budget cuts as high as 30% for the unit, citing people familiar with the talks.
The move would be notable for the Facebook parent company, which changed its name to Meta in October 2021 to signal its pivot beyond social media.
Zuckerberg said at the time that “the metaverse is the next frontier just like social networking was when we got started.”
The proposed cuts would likely include layoffs, according to Bloomberg, which said the cuts were part of budget planning for 2026. The cuts will likely hit the company’s virtual reality group.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meta’s Reality Labs unit, which develops the Quest family of VR headsets and Ray-Ban and Oakley AI smart glasses, reported a $4.4 billion loss in the company’s most recent quarter.
The division had recorded over $70 billion in cumulative losses since late 2020 as of the third-quarter report.
Read the full Bloomberg report here.
Meta year-to-date stock chart.
