iWorld
Eros Now Expands its Presence in Indonesia Through Partnership with XL Home of XL Axiata
MUMBAI: Eros International PLC (NYSE:EROS) (“Eros”), a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry, announced today that Eros Now, its cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform, has partnered with major cellular provider XL Axiata’s home entertainment and fibre optic internet offering – XL Home in Indonesia.
XL Axiata is a part of the Axiata Group, which offers an array of innovative telecommunications products and services ranging from voice, SMS and Value-Added Services (VAS) to mobile data covering more than 93% of the population throughout Indonesia and having a robust subscriber base of 53.9 million. With the rise of more choices in viewing content habits, XL Axiata has recently launched XL Home, a home broadband entertainment service, backed with speedy and stable fibre optic internet connection that allows customers to choose their favourite entertainment and pay for the content or television channels they prefer.
This association further leverages the platform’s global position and cements Eros Now’s presence in key emerging markets like Indonesia. Indonesia is one of many countries in Asia with a thriving community of Bollywood film fans. The partnership between Eros Now and XL Home will allow consumers easy access to home entertainment with fibre optic internet, offering Eros Now’s massive library of over 11,000 films, original shows and music videos. From classics like Ram Aur Shyam to blockbusters like Devdas, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and Bajirao Mastani, consumers will have access to a wide array of quality entertainment at a monthly subscription of IDR 26,000 ($1.79 USD) and an annual subscription of IDR 260,000 ($17.93 USD).
Commenting on the association, Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO, Eros Digital said, “We want to continue creating strong differentiated content strategies and cater to the growing influence of Indian content worldwide. The collaboration with XL Home enables Eros Now to expand its reach to a larger consumer base in Indonesia who can enjoy their favorite Indian entertainment content on XL Home.”
XL Axiata's Director or Corporate Strategy and Business Development, Abhijit Navalekar, said, "XL Home is enthusiastic in forming a partnership with Eros Now, in order to, mutually, providing high quality content for XL Home customers. Through this partnership, we also want to show our dedication and commitment in providing comprehensive and relevant content. Supported by high speed and stable fibre optic internet connection, we are optimistic in providing fantastic XL Home experience to our customers."
As previously announced in September of this year, Eros Now entered the Indonesian market through a distribution partnership with Xiaomi’s Mi TV. The integration with XL Axiata further affirms Eros Now’s penetration strategy in the Indonesian market.
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.
