A new round of layoffs is hitting Meta, with their California workforce being at the center. The tech giant continues reshaping its priorities away from the metaverse and deeper into artificial intelligence. According to filings submitted to state regulators, Meta plans to permanently cut 219 roles at its Burlingame office on Airport Boulevard in San Mateo County. Those layoffs are scheduled to take effect on March 20. Another notice shows that an additional 53 positions will be eliminated on the same day at the company’s Playa Vista location in Los Angeles County. These cuts land as Meta keeps shrinking its headcount inside Reality Labs, the unit behind its virtual reality and augmented reality products. Earlier this month, the New York Times reported the company was preparing to lay off about 10 percent of Reality Labs staff, with teams focused on virtual reality hardware and its metaverse social platform expected to take the biggest hit. In a memo obtained by the Times, Meta chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth, who oversees Reality Labs, urged employees to attend what he described as the “most important” in-person meeting of the year. Meta has not commented publicly on the reported layoffs. In December, a company spokeswoman said Meta was “shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward A.I. glasses,” while adding there were no plans for “any broader changes.” The pullback is not limited to California. In Washington State, Meta plans to lay off 331 workers by March 20, including employees in Redmond, Bellevue, Seattle, and remote roles statewide. The company has confirmed these Washington cuts are part of roughly 1,500 Reality Labs job losses nationwide. Since its launch in 2020, Reality Labs has logged more than $70 billion in losses, creating pressure even as Meta’s advertising business rebounds with help from A.I.-powered tools. Meta’s move is also part of a wider wave of early-year tech layoffs. Western Digital Technologies disclosed plans to cut 87 jobs in San Jose, while medical device maker Resonetics announced the permanent closure of a Menlo Park site, resulting in 61 job losses this spring.

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