Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘Year of Efficiency’ Continues With More Layoffs in Metaverse Division

Meta is reportedly carrying out yet another round of layoffs as part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s “Year of Efficiency,” a plan to cut costs announced earlier this year.

The employees affected by this week’s layoffs worked in Meta’s Reality Labs division, according to a Wednesday report by Reuters. It’s not clear how many were laid off.

That team is tasked with working on Zuckerberg’s metaverse project. Specifically, the people let go were working on developing custom silicon chips to power Meta’s augmented reality and virtual reality projects. 

However, employees in the Facebook Agile Silicon Team, or FAST, have struggled to make chips that can compete with industry heavyweights like Qualcomm, Reuters reported. Meta currently uses Qualcomm chips in its devices.

Meta declined to confirm whether news about the layoffs was accurate on Wednesday morning. A Meta spokesperson instead referred to Zuckerberg’s March announcement on the Year of the Efficiency.

“In a small number of cases, it may take through the end of the year to complete these changes,” Zuckerberg told employees at the time.

In a March message, Zuckerberg said he expected to reduce Meta’s team by 10,000 people this year and leave 5,000 open roles unfilled. The Meta CEO said layoffs would allow the company to improve its business performance in a “difficult economic environment.”

The March cuts came on top of layoffs Meta made last November, which affected 11,000 people, or 13% of its workforce.

Overall, between 2022 and 2023, Meta cuts will affect more than 21,000 workers.