According to reports, Chinese tech giants Tencent and Bytedance plan to make substantial staff cuts in their metaverse divisions. amid rumors of layoffs of hundreds of people, and Bytedance also plans to cut staff at its metaverse headset subsidiary, Pico, amid rumors of several staff adjustments.
Tencent and Bytedance report reductions in dedicated Metaverse staff
Tencent and Bytedance, two of China’s largest technology companies, plan to carry out hundreds of layoffs in their Metaverse development groups, according to various reports. Tencent, best known for its software business, is currently abandoning plans to enter the Metaverse hardware market, affecting hundreds of employees at the company.
According to local media, the company has toldmore than 300 employees that it willlook for new job opportunities and disband its augmented reality division, which specializes in developing Metaverse products.22} The company has confirmedthat it will be adjusting its workforce due to the change in plans but denied the idea that the aforementioned group would be dissolved.
Tencent had been developing a ring controller specifically for Metaverse, but the large investment required to build it and the poor prospects for its profitability have put the idea on hold. Sources stated.
It no longer fits at all under the company’s overall new strategy.
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Bytedance Bytedance’s struggling Pico and Metaverse headset hardware division is facing similar difficulties and plans to cut hundreds of jobs. According to the South China Morning Post, several groups at the company are expected to lose 30% of their workforce through the layoffs, which could extend to higher-level positions as well
The company recently launched its latest Pico series to gain a foothold in the Asian market. The launch has reportedly helped the company capture 15% of the VR headset market, compared to nearly 85% for Meta’s products; Henry Zhou, Pico’s founder and CEO, has said that the company expects to sell over 1 million headsets.
These reports come amid a global move by large companies to cut back on their efforts to create metaverse-based hardware and software and cut expenses in this area. Microsoft and Meta, two Western high-tech giants, have also implemented similar measures.
Microsoft is shutting down several Metaverse-focused groups as part of a 10,000-employee layoff round. Meanwhile, Meta, which expects to continue to make losses in the Metaverse in 2023, is reportedly planning new layoffs after implementing a 13% reduction in its workforce late last year.