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Message: [QUOTE="Queen, post: 85191, member: 27"] Big tech vibes just shifted again, because Meta is trimming real people while sprinting harder toward AI and quietly backing away from the metaverse dream. California layoffs land first [LIST] [*]Meta is chopping jobs in California because its priorities keep drifting away from virtual worlds and toward artificial intelligence, and the fallout is hitting real offices on real streets. [*]State filings say 219 roles disappear at the Burlingame office on Airport Boulevard in San Mateo County on March 20, which is not exactly subtle timing. [*]Another 53 positions get wiped out the same day at the Playa Vista site in Los Angeles County, stacking pressure on Southern California teams. [/LIST] Reality Labs takes the hit [LIST] [*]Reality Labs is shrinking because Meta is no longer treating virtual and augmented reality like the next guaranteed gold rush. [*]Internal planning flagged roughly one-tenth of that unit for cuts earlier this month, with VR hardware crews and the metaverse social platform staring down the worst of it. [*]The whole situation ties back to years of heavy spending with very little payoff, which has executives clearly losing patience. [/LIST] Andrew Bosworth steps in [LIST] [*]Andrew Bosworth, the Meta chief technology officer overseeing Reality Labs, pushed staff toward an in-person meeting by calling it the most important one of the year, which raised eyebrows fast. [*]The timing lines up with job reductions, making the message feel less like motivation and more like brace-for-impact energy. [/LIST] Public silence, quiet pivot [LIST] [*]Meta has stayed quiet in public while internally redirecting money away from the metaverse and toward AI-powered glasses. [*]Back in December, a company spokeswoman framed the shift as a change in investment focus, while stressing there were no broad shakeups planned, which aged quickly. [/LIST] Washington State is not spared [LIST] [*]Washington State workers are also getting hit, with 331 roles scheduled to vanish by March 20 across Redmond, Bellevue, Seattle, and remote positions statewide. [*]Meta confirmed these cuts are part of roughly 1,500 Reality Labs job losses spread across the country. [/LIST] The money problem behind it all [LIST] [*]Reality Labs has burned through more than $70 billion since launching in 2020, which keeps looming larger even as Meta's advertising revenue recovers. [*]AI-powered tools are propping up the core business, making the loss-heavy metaverse projects easier to sideline. [/LIST] Tech layoffs spread wider [LIST] [*]Meta is not alone, because early-year tech layoffs are stacking up across California. [*]Western Digital Technologies plans to cut 87 jobs in San Jose, adding more pressure to the local tech scene. [*]Resonetics is shutting down a Menlo Park site entirely, costing 61 workers their jobs this spring. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]

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