Advertisement
ByteDance’s Pico virtual reality unit is cutting hundreds of jobs after ramping up competition with Meta
- Some teams will see nearly a third of their staff cut in the latest round of lay-offs for the TikTok owner, people familiar with the matter said
- ByteDance acquired the headset maker in 2021 in a bet on VR and recently launched the Pico 4, which has compared favourably to Meta’s Quest 2
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
ByteDance’s virtual reality headset maker Pico is conducting a round of lay-offs expected to affect hundreds of employees, according to two people familiar with the matter, hitting a subsidiary once seen as an avenue to future growth outside short video apps TikTok and Douyin.
The job cuts could affect a substantial portion of Pico, with some teams trimmed by as much as 30 per cent, one of the people said. Some higher-level positions are affected, the other person said without going into specifics.
Most former employees will be compensated based on the number of years they have served plus one month’s salary, the first person said.
ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
At the end of last year, the social media giant also cut hundreds of jobs at Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, as well as in its video gaming and real estate operations, the South China Morning Post previously reported. CEO Liang Rubo told employees in December that ByteDance needs to “get fit and beef up the muscle” to streamline operations.
The latest lay-offs come just months after the subsidiary, which ByteDance acquired in 2021 for an estimated 5 billion yuan (US$772 million), launched its flagship Pico 4 stand-alone VR headset in September. The company launched the device with high hopes for market growth, and it drew favourable comparisons to Meta Platforms’ Quest 2, which is not officially available in China.
Advertisement