Meta Still Betting Big on Metaverse Amid Cost-Cutting, Weakening Business Environment (Report)

thewrap.com:

The Wall Street Journal called “its most ambitious attempt yet to prove that its metaverse aspiration actually has some legs,” with a reveal of its latest efforts in virtual reality slated for next week, the social media company is in the midst of extensive cost cutting, including closing offices, freezing hiring and layoffs.

And its stock has lost 58% of its value over the last 12 months, making it the 10th worst performer on the S&P 500 in that time, the Journal noted.

In Friday morning trading, Meta Platforms shares were down 2.5% at $135.57.These moves follow a series of scandal relating to privacy and politics, combined with a slowing economy and slumping online advertising spending to create a series of stumbling blocks for the Facebook and Instagram parent, which changed its name to Meta last year.The company is expected to introduce a new high-end virtual reality headset at its “Meta Connect” conference that starts Tuesday.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described the set as being designed for work, and suggested it could “eventually replace” a work laptop.Meta will seek to build on the success of its Quest 2 VR headset, which is mainly for videogaming and has sold nearly 8.8 million units in the last year, according to the Journal.