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Facebook reaffirms commitment to India’s startup ecosystem, sets up Facebook Hubs across 9 cities
MUMBAI: Facebook today, launched Facebook Hubs with a vision to further enable India's startup ecosystem. Announced last year at Facebook India Startup Day, Facebook has partnered with 91springboard, for a yearlong program, which will include co working community hosting, planning and organizing structured activities like learning and skill development programs for startups and entrepreneurs to help scale their businesses.
Facebook Hubs will help foster innovation and support for the community, by hosting mentor hours and trainings, workshops, roundtable discussions across 20 locations in nine cities including Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Navi Mumbai and Goa .
Satyajeet Singh, Head of Product Partnerships, Facebook India and South Asia said “Facebook Hubs stem from our mission to provide startups with the infrastructure, mentorship and support they need to grow and scale their operations ethically and sustainably. We have already worked with hundreds of startups through our various programs and by teaming up with 91springboard we hope to reach out to more, to fuel India’s startup ecosystem with a vision to build businesses of tomorrow.”
“Facebook Hubs are in line with our vision of developing robust, sustainable programs, conducive places and meaningful partnerships with relevant ecosystem partners to boost India’s dynamic startup engine and enable it to provide a further push to India's entrepreneurial zeal.” he added.
Facebook Hubs will be part of a global network for training and mentoring facilities for startups, developers, SMBs, creators, and job seekers. Designed as catalysts to facilitate community learning, Facebook Hubs are part of Facebook's vision to empower innovators everywhere to drive economic growth, build robust ecosystems, and create social value.
Anand Vemuri, CEO, 91springboard said “We are truly proud and delighted to join forces with Facebook. India has some incredible things happening in the startup ecosystem and our partnership to enable Facebook Hubs will provide entrepreneurs access to knowledge, tools and resources that will give them a massive competitive edge.”
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.
