iWorld
ZEE5 Global Brings Together Top Bangla Artistes to Recreate ‘Abar Jombe Mela’ in a message of hope for Bangladesh
Amid the global pandemic comes a song of hope, of looking forward to a better day.
ZEE5 Global brings alive again the ever-popular folk song “Abar Jombe Mela” in an all-new format rendered by Bangladesh’s youth icons. The song is being released today across all ZEE5 platforms. The initiative is in association with Dettol & supported by Nestle.
In January ’20, at a huge event in Dhaka, ZEE5, the largest global video streaming platform for South Asians and beyond, shared its plans for Bangladesh and announced the rollout of various initiatives to drive growth in the market through strong local collaborations. The intent was encapsulated in the theme ‘Stronger Together’, thereby kickstarting a journey of deep collaboration and partnership that’s only grown from strength to strength over the last several weeks.
The current situation, however, has caused some of the on-ground initiatives, that were well underway and even scheduled to launch like the Bangladesh Talent Hunt and shoot of the Originals, to be pushed out by a few weeks till the situation stabilizes. The joint team working on these initiatives was further disappointed with the traditional Pohela Boishakh and Ramadan celebrations being marred due to the pandemic.
However, in the darkest of times, the resilience of the Bangladeshi people has always shone through. “Biswa Obak Cheye Robe: Towards Hope” – A ZEE5 initiative in collaboration with Good Company – An Asiatic 360 Content Initiative is a song that salutes this resilience in these difficult times.
Amit Goenka, CEO, ZEE International and ZEE5 Global said,” Bangladesh is a hugely important market for us, and this song, symbolizing hope, is being launched with the specific intent of celebrating the spirit and resilience of the people of Bangladesh as they navigate these challenging times. We look forward to rolling out our plans for this exciting market soon.”
Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global said, “With the world going through a difficult time during this lockdown period, we wanted to share a special message of hope with the people of Bangladesh. Music has always played a significant role in Bangladesh traditions, and this song has a strong historical significance for Bangladeshis. With this reimagined song, we want to share a message of hope amongst the people to look beyond today towards a brighter future, especially during the auspicious month of Ramadan, and that we will get through this time soon.”
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
