Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth is holding 'most important' meeting of the year; read the 'unusual' message sent to employees
Meta 's Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth has scheduled what he's calling the "most important" all-hands meeting of the year for January 14, with managers making an unusual push for employees to show up in person. The directive comes as the Reality Labs division braces for another round of potential cuts following months of strategic upheaval.
Two Meta employees told Business Insider that the emphasis on in-person attendance is highly unusual for the division, which oversees the company's virtual reality, augmented reality, wearables, and a nascent robotics unit. Some managers have reportedly told staff to "drop what they're doing" to attend the meeting in person. Reality Labs hemorrhaging billions amid strategic pivotThe meeting follows a turbulent period for Reality Labs, which has racked up over $70 billion in losses since 2020 as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pursued his metaverse vision. Last month, Business Insider reported that Meta was considering budget cuts of up to 30% and potential layoffs within the division.
Meta has already slashed Reality Labs twice in the past year. In April, the company laid off employees from Oculus Studios and its Supernatural VR fitness team. Those cuts followed broader January 2025 layoffs that eliminated nearly 4,000 roles companywide, with at least 560 affecting Reality Labs.
The company has shifted its focus toward AI and away from the metaverse, with Zuckerberg investing $14.3 billion in Scale AI last year and poaching top researchers from OpenAI and Google DeepMind. Meta has also redirected investments toward its Ray-Ban smart glasses , which have become a surprise hit. Make or break moment for Zuckerberg's hardware visionIn a memo obtained by Business Insider earlier last year, Bosworth described 2025 as "the most critical" year in his eight-year tenure at Reality Labs. "This year likely determines whether this entire effort will go down as the work of visionaries or a legendary misadventure," he wrote.
Meta did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment about the upcoming meeting.
Two Meta employees told Business Insider that the emphasis on in-person attendance is highly unusual for the division, which oversees the company's virtual reality, augmented reality, wearables, and a nascent robotics unit. Some managers have reportedly told staff to "drop what they're doing" to attend the meeting in person. Reality Labs hemorrhaging billions amid strategic pivotThe meeting follows a turbulent period for Reality Labs, which has racked up over $70 billion in losses since 2020 as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pursued his metaverse vision. Last month, Business Insider reported that Meta was considering budget cuts of up to 30% and potential layoffs within the division.
Meta has already slashed Reality Labs twice in the past year. In April, the company laid off employees from Oculus Studios and its Supernatural VR fitness team. Those cuts followed broader January 2025 layoffs that eliminated nearly 4,000 roles companywide, with at least 560 affecting Reality Labs.
The company has shifted its focus toward AI and away from the metaverse, with Zuckerberg investing $14.3 billion in Scale AI last year and poaching top researchers from OpenAI and Google DeepMind. Meta has also redirected investments toward its Ray-Ban smart glasses , which have become a surprise hit. Make or break moment for Zuckerberg's hardware visionIn a memo obtained by Business Insider earlier last year, Bosworth described 2025 as "the most critical" year in his eight-year tenure at Reality Labs. "This year likely determines whether this entire effort will go down as the work of visionaries or a legendary misadventure," he wrote.
Meta did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment about the upcoming meeting.
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