Meta Platforms is expected to make up to 30% budget cuts for its metaverse initiative, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussion.

The Facebook parent’s shares rose more than 4%.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has heavily bet on the augmented-reality unit , with the company changing its name to Meta from Facebook in 2021. The unit has burned more than $60 billion since 2020.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has heavily bet on the augmented-reality unit. Above, Zuckerberg at the company’s Connect developer conference in September. AP

The proposed metaverse cuts are part of the company’s annual budget planning for 2026, which included a series of meetings at Zuckerberg’s compound in Hawaii last month, Bloomberg reported.

Cuts that high would most likely include layoffs

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