Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth defends layoffs as VR growth slows

Meta’s chief technology officer has defended the company’s recent layoffs, stating that the decision reflects the need to recalibrate investments as growth in virtual reality adoption has fallen short of expectations.

Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s CTO, spoke about the restructuring while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, during a podcast recorded on the sidelines of the event. He said the job cuts within the Reality Labs division were driven by slower-than-anticipated user uptake of VR headsets, even as the company continues to invest heavily in the broader space.

Bosworth stated that while Meta remains committed to immersive technologies, the pace of VR growth has not matched earlier projections, making it necessary for the company to ensure its investment is appropriately sized when momentum slows.

As part of the move, Meta is cutting around 10 per cent of staff working on metaverse-related virtual reality projects within Reality Labs. Analysts said the decision suggests a recalibration of Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for the metaverse, with greater emphasis now placed on mobile platforms and smart glasses rather than VR alone.

According to a report by The New York Times, the layoffs affect more than 1,000 roles, accounting for roughly 10 per cent of the hardware division responsible for Quest VR headsets and the Horizon Worlds virtual social network.

Meta had signalled the changes in December 2025, when it announced plans to reallocate funding within Reality Labs as part of a broader effort to optimise spending across its technology bets.