Meta has initiated another round of layoffs, cutting hundreds of employees across multiple divisions. Reality Labs, the company’s hardware and metaverse-focused unit, is among the hardest hit. The job cuts come just one day after reports surfaced that Meta executives—excluding CEO Mark Zuckerberg—stand to gain as much as $2.7 billion each under new compensation packages.
Wednesday’s reductions, while numbering in the hundreds, fall well short of the 20 percent workforce reduction that was rumored earlier this month. At the close of 2025, Meta employed roughly 79,000 people. However, this latest round may represent an initial wave ahead of deeper cuts to come.
Earlier in March, Meta reportedly instructed some managers to prepare cost-cutting proposals. The company is seeking to offset its massive investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure, including a plan to spend $600 billion on data centers by 2028.
Cuts Across Divisions, but Reality Labs Takes the Hit
The layoffs are also expected to affect Meta’s recruiting, sales, Facebook, and global operations teams. But the cuts at Reality Labs underscore a difficult reality: the company’s multibillion-dollar bet on virtual reality and the metaverse has yet to deliver meaningful returns.
Today’s reductions follow a January layoff that eliminated more than 1,000 positions within the division. Since the start of 2021, Reality Labs has lost over $70 billion. Despite Meta’s 2021 rebranding—which signaled a strategic pivot from social media to the metaverse—Zuckerberg now increasingly positions the company as an AI powerhouse.
In January, the CEO offered a glimpse of the future he envisions for Big Tech, stating that he is beginning to see “projects that used to require big teams now [being] accomplished by a single very talented person.” While that vision may appeal to a select few, it signals continued headwinds for the broader workforce.
A Lucrative New Incentive for Executives
Meanwhile, Meta appears to be taking inspiration from Tesla’s high-profile executive compensation model. According to recent SEC filings, the company is planning a new performance-based stock incentive system for six top executives: Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, Chief Financial Officer Susan Li, Chief Operating Officer Javier Olivan, and Chief Product Officer Chris Cox.
Under the proposed structure, these four executives—along with two others—could see compensation packages reportedly valued at up to $2.7 billion each, tied closely to company performance metrics.
The juxtaposition of significant workforce reductions alongside massive potential payouts for top executives underscores the shifting priorities at a company navigating the high costs of AI dominance and the lingering fallout from its metaverse ambitions.
