Mark Zuckerberg reassured employees on Thursday that WhatsApp and Messenger would fuel the company’s next wave of sales growth as he moved to allay fears about Meta’s finances following its first round of huge layoffs.

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms, reassured employees on Thursday that WhatsApp and Messenger would drive the company’s next wave of sales growth as he moved to allay fears about the company’s finances following its first round of major layoffs…

Zuckerberg, responding to tough questions at a company-wide conference a week after Meta announced it would lay off 11,000 employees, described the two of messaging applications as “quite early in monetisation” compared to Facebook and Instagram, according to statements heard by Reuters.

“We speak a lot about long-term potential such as the metaverse, but the fact is that business messaging will likely become the next big pillar of our business as we seek to monetize WhatsApp and Messenger more,” he said.

Meta enables certain consumers to communicate and interact with businesses via chat apps, including a new feature unveiled in Brazil on Thursday.

The business did not immediately react to a request for comment on the internal forum held on Thursday.

Zuckerberg’s remarks represent a shift in tone and emphasis, as he has invested extensively in extended reality hardware and software after announcing a long-term goal to establish an immersive metaverse one year ago.

Investors have questioned the wisdom of this choice as Meta’s primary advertising business has faltered this year, causing its stock price to decline by more than half.

On his comments to staff, Zuckerberg minimized the amount of money the company was putting in Reality Labs, the division responsible for its efforts in the metaverse.

People were Meta’s largest expense, followed by capital expenditures, the great majority of which supported its portfolio of social media applications, he said. Reality Labs was allocated about 20% of Meta’s funding.

Zuckerberg stated that Reality Labs was spending more than half of its money on augmented reality (AR), with smart glasses products emerging “over the next few years” and “really excellent” AR glasses later in the decade…

“This is in some respects the most difficult component of the task, but I also believe it has the greatest potential for long-term value,” he said.,..

Virtual reality contributed for more than forty percent of Reality Labs’ expenditures, whereas futuristic social platforms such as its Horizon virtual environment earned less than ten percent.

Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, who leads Reality Labs, stated that augmented reality glasses must be more helpful than mobile phones in order to appeal to potential customers and reach a higher standard of desirability.

Bosworth stated that he was hesitant to explore “industrial applications” for the devices, calling them as “niche,” and that he wished to maintain his focus on designing for a large audience.