Last year Valve did "mass" (relative to the size of the company and divisions) firings [0] after Jeri Ellsworth was fired. Right now it's just speculation, but I doubt Valve has either the time, money or motivation to compete against two giants, Facebook and Sony, and against the other new competitors that are starting to appear [1][2][3].

Valve's hands are already full with the SteamBox, the controller, Steam itself and however many games they have in development. But yes, you're right - some of the VR developers might simply be relocated to other projects within Valve. Who knows.

[0] http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/13/3985642/great-cleansing-at...

[1] http://www.trueplayergear.com/

[2] http://www.lazygamer.net/general-news/razer-climbing-on-the-...

[3] InfinitEye: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH86II2CwdE