iWorld
aha Telugu Indian Idol Season two, launches new season with a musical event
Mumbai: aha, an OTT platform, has launched its new season of Telugu Indian Idol with a musical event. The competition has been a fan favorite since last year and has launched the careers of some of the most talented singers in the industry. This year’s competition promises to be bigger and better than ever, with some of the most unique talents from across the world competing for the coveted title. Telugu Indian Idol is being produced by Fremantle India.
To kick off the evening of entertainment, aha has planned a tribute to the singer S P Balasubrahmanyam. The evening will begin with the unveiling of his statue in his native town, which will remind everyone of his incredible contributions to the industry and a fitting tribute to his legacy.
Adding to the excitement, the night will also feature a LIVE concert by SS Thaman, one of South India’s music directors. The musical concert will also feature performances by Geetha Madhuri and Hemachandra.
“The reason behind planning this larger than life event in Nellore is two-fold – Nellore is the hometown of musical maestros and what can be better than launching the world’s biggest musical stage from this city. Secondly, Nellore is one of the strongest markets for aha and this is our way of thanking our audiences,” said aha CEO Ajit Thakur.
“We are thrilled to be creating the second edition of Telugu Indian Idol with Aha. Being on ground in Nellore today is no coincidence: it is intended not only as a salutation to the incredible talent from here including our season one winner but also a precursor to this season where we have left no stone unturned to bring you talent from every possible nook and cranny of the Telugu speaking world. We are eager to share with the audiences the magic of music and the roller coaster of emotions that we have strung together along with the super talented Thaman, Geeta, Kartik, Hemachandra and of course our promising contestants,” said Fremantle India MD Aradhana Bhola.
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.
