iWorld
The premiere edition of the Exhibit Auto Tech Awards is finally here!
MUMBAI: Exhibit Magazine, India’s leading supplement on technology, fashion and lifestyle announces the first-ever edition of its much awaited Exhibit Auto Tech Awards. Slated to be held on 31st January, 2019 at Sofitel BKC in the financial capital, the awards will recognise and felicitate the crème de la crème in the automotive technology space. Hosted in association with partners thetechy.com and thewheelz.com, the evening will also witness the presence of industry stalwarts and veterans who will be a part of the ceremonious occasion.
The premiere edition of the Exhibit Auto Awards will recognize 26 winners across distinct categories in the automotive industry for the year ended December 2018. Brands will be adjudged first by a general voting process, that went live from January 1st 2019 and is open to readers of the title and consumers, followed by a final shortlist by an eminent jury. To vote for your favourites please log on to or register on http://www.thewheelz.com/awards/nominations/. Voting closes on January 25th, 2019.
The winner categories for the highly anticipated awards include ‘Design Of The Year’, ‘Compact Hatchback Of The Year’, ‘Premium Hatchback Of The Year’, ‘Compact Sedan Of The Year’, ‘Executive Sedan Of The Year’, ‘Premium Sedan Of The Year’, ‘Luxury Sedan Of The Year’, ‘MVP Of The Year’, ‘Compact SUV Of The Year’, ‘Premium SUV Of The Year’, ‘Luxury SUV Of The Year’, ‘Performance/ Sports Car Of The Year’, ‘Super Car Of The Year’, ‘Car Manufacturer Of The Year’, ‘Auto Campaign Of The Year’, ‘Car Of The Year’, ‘Much Awaited Car/ SUV Of The Year (Below 30 Lakhs)’, ‘Much Awaited Car/ SUV Of The Year (Above 30 Lakhs)’, ‘Bike Of The Year (125 cc)’, ‘Bike Of The Year (160 cc)’, ‘Bike Of The Year (250 cc)’, ‘Bike Of The Year (350 cc)’, ‘Bike Of The Year (1000 cc)’, ‘Scooter Of The Year’, ‘Naked Sports Bike Of The Year’, and lastly ‘Cruiser Of The Year’.
The stellar jury appointed for the launch edition of the awards include the likes of actor and producer Abhay Deol; Founder and CEO of VU Technologies, Devita Saraf; Editor – Tech & Auto, Exhibit Magazine & thewheelz.com, Prithvi Radhakrishna; Veteran Journalist Ranojoy Mukherjee; CEO & Editor-in-Chief at Exhibit Group, Ramesh Somani and Consulting Editor for Technology & Automobiles at Dainik Jagran, Siddhartha Sharma.
Commenting on the prestigious launch CEO & Editor-in-Chief at Exhibit Group, Ramesh Somani, said, “Evolving times have seen a drastic change in the evolution of technology and innovation in the automotive sector. The need of the hour today is thus, to recognize path-breaking trends and creations in the automotive technology space. With the Exhibit Auto Tech Awards, we aim at lauding industry leaders in their journey to make powerful and meaningful creations for the consumers of today.”
Adding to this actor Abhay Deol on being appointed jury member said, “It feels great to be part of a team that identifies with the dynamic automobile space. An auto enthusiast myself, I’m thrilled to be a part of the very first edition of the awards. May the best brand win, fingers crossed! ”
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.
