Meta plans budget cuts as high as 30% to its metaverse efforts

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to cut resources for building the so-called metaverse, an effort that he once framed as the future of the company and the reason for changing its name from Facebook.

Executives were considering potential budget cuts as high as 30 per cent for the metaverse group next year, which includes the virtual worlds product Meta Horizon Worlds and its Quest virtual reality (VR) unit, according to people familiar with the talks, who asked not to be named while discussing private company plans.

Cuts that high were most likely to include lay-offs as early as January, according to the people, though a final decision had not yet been made.

Meta confirmed a reduction in resources for the metaverse and said savings were expected to funnel towards other futuristic projects within Meta’s Reality Labs division, including artificial intelligence glasses and other wearables.

“Within our overall Reality Labs portfolio we are shifting some of our investment from metaverse towards AI glasses and wearables given the momentum there. We aren’t planning any broader changes than that,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wears the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses. Photo: Reuters

The proposed metaverse cuts were part of the company’s annual budget planning for 2026, which included a series of meetings at Zuckerberg’s compound in Hawaii last month, people familiar with the company said.

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