Meta Plans Layoffs In Metaverse Special Silicon Making Unit

Meta plans to lay off employees who work in metaverse development. (photo: dock. pexels)

JAKARTA - Meta Platform Inc., plans to terminate employment on Wednesday 4 October at metaverse-oriented Reality Labs units focused on making custom silicon. This was said by two sources familiar with the matter to Reuters on Tuesday, October 3.

Employees have been notified of plans to terminate employment in a post on Meta Workplace's internal discussion forum last Tuesday. According to one of the sources, the post said it would be notified of their status with the company on Wednesday morning.

Meta's spokesman declined to comment on the plan. Reuters also could not determine the extent of the cuts in the silicon unit, called the Facebook Agile Silicon Team or FAST.

If the cut is deep enough, it could hamper Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's project to build augmented and virtual reality products that allow access to a series of deeply virtual worlds known as the "metaverse." This is primarily AR glasses he predicts "will redefine human relations with technology."

The FAST unit, which has about 600 employees, works on developing dedicated chips to complete Meta devices in order to perform unique tasks and operate more efficiently, distinguishing them from others entering the newly developed AR/VR market.

However, Meta has struggled to make chips that can compete with silicon produced by external providers and have turned to chipmaker Qualcomm to manufacture chips for its devices currently circulating on the market.

FAST updates have been expected since spring, when Meta hired a new executive to lead the unit.

Separate chip manufacturing units in the Meta infrastructure division focused on artificial intelligence work are also experiencing problems. The executive oversees those efforts to announce their departure last week, although Meta has appointed someone else to replace its role and continue the effort.

Currently, Meta is creating a series of mixed reality headsets called Quest and intelligent glasses designed with glasses maker Ray-Ban, EssilorLuxottica, which can stream videos and communicate with users through new AI virtual assistants.

The company announced a new version of the smart glasses and consumer-oriented Quest headset, Quest 3, at its annual Connect conference last week.

The company is also working on more technically challenging AR glasses and less bulky which looks more like regular glasses, along with related smartwatches, according to one of the sources.

"The first version of the product is scheduled to be completed next year, although Meta initially had no plans to make it widely available to consumers," the source said.

Meta has reduced about 21,000 jobs since November last year as it seeks to reassure investors that it has controlled costs amid slowing revenue growth, high inflation, and concerns that Reality Labs is losing too much money.

In a March statement, Zuckerberg said most of this year's layoffs would occur in the spring, but that "in a small number of cases, may last until the end of the year to resolve these changes."