Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is gearing up for a pivotal internal gathering that could shape the future of its ambitious hardware division. The company's Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, has scheduled what he terms the "most important" all-hands meeting of the year for January 14. In an unusual move, managers within the Reality Labs division are strongly urging employees to attend the meeting in person, signaling the gravity of the upcoming announcements.
Unusual Push for Physical Attendance Signals Gravity
According to internal sources who spoke to Business Insider, the emphasis on physical presence is highly out of the ordinary for Reality Labs. This division is responsible for Meta's ventures into virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), wearable technology, and an emerging robotics unit. Some managers have reportedly instructed their teams to "drop what they're doing" to be there, underscoring the meeting's critical nature. This directive arrives as the division prepares for another potential round of budget reductions and job cuts, following months of significant strategic shifts within the company.
Billions in Losses and Strategic Pivot to AI
The backdrop to this urgent meeting is a period of immense turbulence for Reality Labs. Since 2020, the division has accumulated staggering losses exceeding $70 billion, fueled by CEO Mark Zuckerberg's intense focus on building the metaverse. However, the winds have shifted. Last month, reports surfaced that Meta is contemplating budget cuts of up to 30% within Reality Labs, which may include further layoffs.
This would not be the first trimming exercise for the unit. Meta has already executed two rounds of cuts in the past year. In April, employees from Oculus Studios and the Supernatural VR fitness team were let go. These followed broader company-wide layoffs in January 2025 that eliminated nearly 4,000 roles, with at least 560 impacting Reality Labs.
Concurrently, Meta's corporate strategy has visibly pivoted. The company is now channeling its resources and attention toward artificial intelligence (AI), moving away from its singular metaverse obsession. This shift is evidenced by Zuckerberg's $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI last year and aggressive hiring of top researchers from rivals like OpenAI and Google DeepMind. Investments have also been redirected toward more successful products like the Ray-Ban smart glasses, which have unexpectedly become a market hit.
A Make-or-Break Year for Hardware Ambitions
The weight of the moment was captured in a memo from Andrew Bosworth last year, obtained by Business Insider. In it, he described 2025 as "the most critical" year in his eight-year leadership of Reality Labs. "This year likely determines whether this entire effort will go down as the work of visionaries or a legendary misadventure," Bosworth wrote, framing the high-stakes nature of the current juncture.
The upcoming January 14 meeting is widely seen as a defining moment that will address these challenges and likely outline the path forward for the embattled division. It represents a crucial test for Zuckerberg's long-term hardware and immersive technology vision. Meta has not provided an official comment regarding the specifics of the meeting in response to media inquiries.
