iWorld
ALTBalaji partners PayPal to reach 203m accounts across 200 markets
MUMBAI: ALTBalaji, the digital platform of Balaji Telefilms Limited, has entered into a partnership for international online payments with PayPal, the world’s open digital payments company. ALTBalaji’s international users across 200 markets will now be able to subscribe to the streaming service conveniently using PayPal’s comprehensive payment platform.
ALT Digital Media Entertainment Limited CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “With a vision to redefine entertainment for Indians globally, our association with PayPal will help us streamline the process of subscribing to the ALTBalaji service using one of the most popular payment service globally.”
PayPal head – channel partners Ashish Tandon said, “Technology has democratised access to products and services. Global consumers have been traditionally using PayPal to make payments that help them access Indian entertainment content. As per the recently launched PayPal Cross Border Consumer Research 2016, online spends for entertainment as a category is projected to witness the highest growth among all other purchase categories in India. We have already observed this trend globally and look forward to leveraging our global network for ALTBalaji.”
Through this partnership, ALTBalaji will be able to reach out to PayPal’s 203 million active global accounts across 200 markets thereby providing a magnitude of convenience to its international users. Through a combination of strategic partnerships and technological innovations, PayPal creates better ways to manage and move money and offers choice and flexibility when sending payments, paying or getting paid.
ALTBalaji was launched on 16th April 2017 with 5 original shows and will add new shows every fortnight for its viewers to binge watch. The content is created by some of the best talent of the Indian entertainment industry, including critically acclaimed directors and actors. The long illustrious list of artists comprises of Nagesh Kukunoor, Juhi Chawla, Nimrat Kaur, Rajkumar Rao, Hansal Mehta, Sakshi Tanwar, Ram Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Sameer Soni, Yudhishtar Urs, Dipannita Sharma Atwal, and more.
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.
