A former California hotel staffer claims that he was fired on Friday after harassing Israeli guests and publishing footage of the incident, but the hotel said on Saturday that he had resigned.
California
Hundreds set to be laid from Meta’s Reality Labs division
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As Meta continues to shift its business model away from developing the metaverse and toward building an artificial intelligence platform, the company confirmed plans to lay off hundreds of employees in California.
A majority of the workers laid off in the recent worker adjustment and retraining notification (WARN) filing stem from the company’s “Reality Labs” division. This information backs up a report from the New York Times, which stated that the company was planning to lay off about 1,500 workers, or about 10 percent of its Reality Labs division.
California’s WARN notice revealed that the company intended to permanently lay off 272 employees by March 20, 2026. The company will specifically cut ties with 53 employees at its Playa Vista location in Los Angeles County and 219 employees at its Burlingame location in San Mateo County.
Beyond California, Meta filed a WARN notice in Washington, revealing that it would lay off 331 employees across the state. According to the notice, employees are expected to receive their benefits and pay up until the day they separate from the company.
The notice did not include information about any potential severance packages being offered by the company. The affected positions ranged from game developers, data engineers, software engineers, AI researchers and more across several of the company’s departments, for the Metaverse Content Group, Horizon OS, and Reality Lab Group, to name a few.
USA Today reached out to Meta for comment regarding the layoffs, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Why is Meta shifting focus from the metaverse?
In 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that his company would be changing its name from Facebook to Meta, to reflect its growing focus on the metaverse. As part of the company’s transition, it invested heavily in Reality Labs, formerly known as Oculus VR, to support the research and development of virtual and augmented reality hardware and software.
Meta initially invested $10 billion into the company to fund its research into new technologies. However, the company’s 2024 fourth-quarter earnings revealed that Meta had lost more than $60 billion in operating costs.
“Our outlook reflects an expectation for continued strong ad revenue growth, partially offset by lower year-over-year Reality Labs revenue in the fourth quarter,” reads the company’s 2025 third-quarter report.
Meta will announce its 2025 fourth-quarter earnings on Jan. 28, 2026, and continue its focus on developing the company’s AI capabilities.
“We are at an exciting point for our company, where we have continued runway to improve our core services today as well as the opportunity to build new AI-powered experiences and services that will transform how people engage with our products in the future,” Meta said in its 2025 third-quarter report. “Next year will enable us to continue to deliver strong revenue growth in 2026, while our progress on AI models and products will position us to capitalize on new revenue opportunities in the years to come.”
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, revealed a significant achievement for the company’s AI platform, according to Reuters.
The company’s new AI lab, Meta Platforms, had rapidly developed a “high-profile model” months after the company launched the lab. Although Bosworth did not provide an example of this new AI platform at the Davos event, he noted that it showed “a lot of promise,” according to Reuters.
Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian.
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California
‘Baby killer:’ California hotel staffer fired after harassing Israeli guests | The Jerusalem Post
A hotel staffer, identifying as Ryan Smith on a GoFundMe fundraiser, said in a Thursday Instagram post that he had said “free Palestine” to a pair of Israeli guests at the Oceanpoint Ranch in Cambria.
An Israeli woman confronted him, according to the video published by Smith, telling him that he should be “completely objective” to paying guests.
Smith expressed shock when the guest said that she was a Zionist after he had used it as a slur, and then demanded to know if her partner had served in the IDF.
“Are you a baby killer?” asked Smith.
The Israeli man said that he refused to interact with the hotel staffer and continued on, but his partner expressed concern about staying at a hotel where he worked.
Called for others to “give them hell”
“I won’t stay here, certainly he’ll break into our room and do something,” the woman said in Hebrew.
Smith claimed on Instagram that the woman threatened to call the police because “the only thing these cowards can do is hide behind the pedo[phile] regime that runs the country.”
Alongside the video, Smith called for others to “give them hell” if one saw them in California, and that if he “could’ve he would’ve.”
“I’ve never stared into the soul of the devil like I did tonight,” wrote Smith. “The woman (dual citizen of Israel) proceeds to confront me after I see [sic] ‘free Palestine’ as they leave the lobby. She then takes a step further and proceeds to admit to being a Zionist.”
Smith later opened a fundraiser, claiming that he had been “let go” from his job, and asked for donations to support him while he sought new employment. As of Sunday morning, Smith raised $11,773 dollars.
“The world needs to be set free, and I believe peace and love will overcome,” Smith said on his fundraiser web page.
The Oceanpoint Ranch did not immediately respond to a query from The Jerusalem Post, but said in a Saturday social media post that Smith had “unilaterally resigned” from his position after the hotel opened an investigation into the incident.
“The events in the video do not reflect the professionalism and hospitality that our team members are trained to deliver to all our valued guests,” said Oceanpoint Ranch.
“Our team remains committed to fostering a respectful environment for all of our guests, employees, and community.”
California
Letters to the Editor: The purpose of California’s journalism fund isn’t just protecting its biggest players
To the editor: The role of government is not to pick winners and losers in journalism, which is precisely why the California Civic Media Program was designed with independent safeguards from the outset (“Ensure that California’s journalism fund supports key players,” May 18). Funding decisions will ultimately be made by an independent third-party administrator, not by state officials or political appointees.
The program also followed the Legislature’s direction in the creation of a nine-member advisory committee, which has continuously emphasized expanding access to local, ethnic and community media, particularly in underserved communities and regions with limited local news coverage — goals enshrined in the program’s statute. Furthermore, it says the advisory board “may consider” awarding funds based on the number of journalists an organization employs — but in no way requires it.
The purpose of the California Civic Media Program was never simply to preserve the state’s largest publishers, although they are critical. It was to help close information gaps, strengthen newsroom sustainability and ensure more Californians have access to accurate, well-sourced local reporting that empowers participation in civic life and builds stronger communities across the state. At a time when local journalism is struggling nationwide, California is working hard to help sustain and strengthen it for future generations.
Dee Dee Myers, Sacramento
This writer is director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.
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