Tech layoffs hit close to home: Meta cuts in Washington as Amazon layoffs circulate  

Meta’s Reality Labs job cuts in Washington, set for March 20, and Amazon layoffs draw attention from students planning 2026 applications.

By Syed Huzaifa Bin Afzal

Meta Platforms is cutting jobs in its Reality Labs division, including about 331 positions in Washington state. The job cuts are expected to begin on March 20 and will be permanent. Employees in Seattle, Bellevue and Redmond will be affected, along with nearly 100 remote workers who live in Washington, according to FOX 13.  

Reality Labs is Meta’s unit responsible for virtual and augmented-reality products and services, including Quest headsets and other extended reality (XR) initiatives. Meta confirmed the layoffs and said it is reallocating resources to invest more in wearables, The Verge reported.  

GeekWire reported the Washington layoffs were disclosed in the state filing and are part of broader Reality Labs reductions. KING 5 also reported the state notice lists 331 Washington employees losing jobs by March 20, citing 105 working in Redmond, 89 in Bellevue, 40 in Seattle and 97 remote employees across the state. 

The restructuring was first reported nationally on Jan. 12, when Reuters reported Meta planned to cut around 10% of the employees in Reality Labs, citing a New York Times report. The Reuters article mentioned that layoffs could start as soon as  Jan.13 and that it can affect those who work in the metaverse unit with VR disproportionately  

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that California notices list more than 270 employees being laid off by March 20 and described the Washington reductions as part of a nationwide Reality Labs cut totaling about 1,500 job eliminations. Yahoo Finance also reported a figure of about 1,500 Reality Labs job cuts and linked the Washington and California filings to the broader reduction.  

Meta’s public explanation why Meta is focusing on their wearables. The Verge reported that Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses have stolen the spotlight from its VR headsets in the recent year because of the surging demand the company is reallocating Reality Labs resources toward wearables.  

Separately, Android Central reported Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth described adjustments to Meta’s Virtual reality (VR) strategy, including reduced investment in Horizon Worlds for VR and a shift toward supporting a broader gaming ecosystem and mobile access. Android Central tied the strategy shift to the Reality Labs layoffs and said Bosworth emphasized Meta was not exiting VR entirely.  

GamesRadar reported that a Meta Developer Advocate posted on social media that Meta is not getting out of VR, after reports that more than 1,000 Reality Labs employees had been laid off and internal studios were affected. Android Central  reported that Bosworth emphasized continued support for VR, while describing a shift away from some metaverse-focused initiatives and toward improving the broader VR ecosystem.  

Separately, Amazon has also been in the layoff news cycle. Reuters reported on Jan. 22 that Amazon is preparing another round of corporate job cuts, with thousands of roles expected to be eliminated as part of a broader plan to reduce as many as 30,000 white-collar positions, following October’s earlier corporate layoffs.  

The same Reuters report said the cuts are expected to affect multiple business groups, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), retail, Prime Video and human resources. For students in Washington applying to Seattle-area tech employers, the reports add to a hiring landscape in which multiple large companies have recently announced restructurings and workforce reductions. 

Nathaniel Smith, a senior Information Technology student at UWT who followed the news, said the announcement affected how at least one applicant in their circle viewed the company. The student said a friend who had been preparing an application to a Meta division adjacent to Reality Labs decided to withdraw after the reports of cuts and is now focusing on other employers. Their friend viewed the move as part of a broader pattern of recurring layoffs, and said it contributed to burnout with tech hiring practices.  

The same student said repeated layoff headlines have become an added concern for undergraduates planning internships and entry-level careers in Washington, where major tech employers have a large presence. The student said they expect some classmates to be cautious about investing time in company-specific networking if they believe additional workforce reductions could happen, while others may try to align coursework or specializations with roles they think could open as teams reorganize.  

For students and early-career applicants in the Seattle-Tacoma region, the Reality Labs cuts are being tracked not only as company headlines but as a signal for local opportunities in a competitive hiring cycle.  

Meta employs thousands across the region, and the Washington notice lists March 20 as the effective date for the layoffs, according FOX 13. Student observers said the news is already influencing how some applicants approach Meta and how some students think about choosing specializations.