If you remember, back in 2021 Facebook changed its name to Meta, retaining the eponymous social media platform’s name for the “product”. The reason for this is so that the company’s name reflects the tech that it is investing in – the metaverse. In a pretty ironic turn of events, a Bloomberg report indicates that Meta is considering cutting spending into metaverse-related efforts.
According to the report, the budget cut is part of the company’s annual budget planning for the year 2026. The cuts themselves may go as high as 30% within next year. Cuts of that magnitude is, in turn, expected to lead to layoffs as early as January. Though sources cited in the report say a final decision has yet to be made.
Said sources also say that, the norm was for Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to ask company execs to look for 10% cuts across the board. This time around, the cut to its metaverse efforts is deeper because the company has not seen the level of industry-wide competition it initially expected.
Despite this though, CNBC reported yesterday that the company’s stock rose by about 3% following the publication of the Bloomberg report. Investors are probably glad that, despite Zuckerberg’s passion for it, the metaverse has been nothing much beyond a money sink with little to show for it.
(Source: Bloomberg)
