iWorld
ZEE5 Partners with DViO to drive its social media strategy in international markets
MUMBAI: Global digital entertainment platform ZEE5 today announced that the multi-country, integrated social media and marketing agency, DViO has been brought onboard to drive its social media strategy for APAC, MENA and Europe. The mandate was won following a multi-agency pitch. The brand will be handled by the agency’s Mumbai office.
DViO Digital gets onboarded at a time when ZEE5 is aggressively ramping up its expansion across markets. Launched across 190+ markets in October 2018 with over 100,000 hours of content across TV Shows, Movies, Originals and more, ZEE5 has already seen tremendous success in key international markets among South Asian audiences. The streaming platform recently announced the addition of content across 5 international languages Thai, Malay, Bahasa, Russian and German, making its vast bouquet of content accessible now even to mainstream audiences in these markets who love Indian movies and TV Shows.
DViO has been mandated to drive cohesive social media strategies for ZEE5 with a digital first approach across APAC, MENA and Europe and craft experiences that will further strengthen the connect that ZEE5 has built with its international audiences in these markets.
Commenting on this appointment, Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global said, “We are growing exponentially and as we ramp up our presence across global markets, it is imperative for us to have the right partners on board to further propel this growth. DViO brings to the table strong strategic and creative expertise in the social media space and we’re looking at working closely with them to help us drive deeper engagement with our audiences across markets.”
Sowmya Iyer founder & CEO Dvio Digital said, "We see fantastic synergies in our partnership with ZEE5. Our deep experience in the entrainment business and our international footprint in the markets ZEE5 is already growing in will help us work on strategic and cultural nuances of each market to strengthen and rapidly grow ZEE5’s presence. The platform has already been getting great responses from its audiences, especially in the APAC, MENA and Europe regions. ZEE5 is a brand built on legacy and has a great story to tell every single day. We are entrusted with the responsibility to build a digital communication framework to inspire, strengthen, connect and shape the brand globally. This is really exciting for us and we are looking forward."
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.
