Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is preparing to lay off employees in its Reality Labs division’s silicon unit, focused on creating custom chips for its metaverse-oriented products, according to sources familiar with the matter. The extent of the cuts to the unit, called Facebook Agile Silicon Team (FAST), is unknown. This move could pose challenges for Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s goal of building augmented and virtual reality devices, particularly AR glasses, to redefine technology experiences.
The approximately 600-employee FAST unit has faced difficulties in developing chips that can compete with external providers, leading Meta to collaborate with chipmaker Qualcomm. Despite the restructuring, Meta plans to continue developing technically advanced and slim AR glasses for the future. Meta has been undergoing a series of layoffs since last year and has slashed around 21,000 jobs to curb costs and address concerns regarding waning revenue growth.