Brands
Masters Champions League signs Oxigen Wallet as title sponsor
NEW DELHI: The Dubai based Masters Champions League (MCL) has signed up Oxigen Wallet as the title sponsor for its inaugural edition, which is slated to start later this month.
The Oxigen Masters Champions League will feature six teams of retired international cricketers and will kick start on 28 January with the final match to be staged on 13 February.
The tournament will see Oxigen and MCL cooperate extensively in terms of sports events, on-ground activations and marketing campaigns.
The inaugural matches are due to take place at Dubai International Cricket Stadium and Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Grand Midwest Sports, the group that conceptualised and began the tournament did so with an aim to take cricket to a higher level across the UAE.
Sharing his thoughts on the occasion, MCL chairman Zafar Shah said, “We are delighted to have Oxigen joining us as the title sponsor for MCL, which will now be called Oxigen MCL. They are one of the most innovative brands in the world for pioneering the genre of wallet led payments in the online and offline industry. Oxigen as a brand has in a very short span created a niche and legacy in their market. I am sure this will be a long and enriching affiliation for both stakeholders.”
Last week, Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) hopped on board as the official broadcaster for the Indian sub-continent. The MCL has also secured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the current captain of the Indian national cricket team, as brand ambassador.
The first match will take place between two former legendary teammates namely, Sourav Ganguly from Team Libra Legends and Virender Sehwag from Team Gemini Arabians.
On becoming the title sponsors of MCL2020, Oxigen Services chairman and managing director Pramod Saxena said, “Oxigen is proud to partner with Masters Champions League 2020 as their Title Sponsor. Our love for cricket is a constant as it connects us to the masses being a cricket loving nation. With MCL 20-20, we will further Oxigen’s global reach by touching the lives of the NRIs living in the Gulf and other parts of the world, who can fulfil the needs of small payments for their families in India for money transfers, recharges and utility payments.”
Brands
Oracle layoffs affect up to 30,000 employees globally
Job cuts span US, India and more, staff cite abrupt emails, uncertainty.
MUMBAI: April began with an inbox shock and for thousands, it ended with an exit. Oracle has carried out a sweeping round of layoffs, impacting an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 employees across its global operations, even as the company continues to report strong business performance. The job cuts were communicated via emails sent early on April 1, affecting staff across multiple regions including the United States, India, Canada and parts of Latin America. The reduction spans a wide range of roles and functions, though the company has not disclosed specific criteria behind the decisions.
In the days following the layoffs, employees have taken to platforms such as LinkedIn to share their experiences, many describing the process as abrupt and unsettling. Several posts pointed to a lack of prior indication, with notifications arriving suddenly in early-morning messages.
A recurring concern has been the impact on long-tenured staff. Users reported that employees with decades of experience were among those let go, raising broader questions about job security even for seasoned professionals within large technology firms.
The layoffs have also sparked anxiety about the wider direction of the sector. As companies continue to invest heavily in automation and artificial intelligence, workforce recalibration is becoming more common often accompanied by uncertainty around future roles and skills.
For many affected employees, the immediate challenge lies in navigating career transitions in an increasingly competitive job market, with posts reflecting concerns about stability and next steps.
The development comes against a backdrop of strong financial performance at Oracle, which recently reported a 22 percent year-on-year increase in revenue, alongside continued growth in its cloud infrastructure business. The company has also been committing significant capital towards artificial intelligence and data centre expansion.
The contrast between growth and job cuts has added to the unease, underscoring a broader shift in how large technology firms balance expansion with efficiency sometimes at the cost of the very workforce that helped build that growth.
