iWorld
Amazon Prime starts streaming original Indian, foreign exclusive content
MUMBAI: Amazon India today launched its Prime Video in India. Amazon prime users will get access to Bollywood blockbusters, Hollywood movies and TV shows, and kids’ programming and Amazon original series. Available on Google Play Store as of now, it is expected to be available Apple App Store soon.
Amazon Prime is ready to let us watch various entertainment programmes on PrimeVideo.com. Now, one can download any title for offline viewing. Sub-titles and dubbing would be there for all originals and many other titles. Amazon is also working with AIB, Phantom, Excel Media, Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani, Big Synergy, OML for exclusive content.
Amazon Prime video’s overall subscription structure would be:
Unlimited ad-free streaming
Latest exclusive movies and TV shows
No additional cost to the annual subcription of Rs 499 per Prime membership
30-day free trial available
Kids will enjoy their favorite shows from India, and the world, on demand and ad-free. Amamazon India earlier announced tie-ups with content partners such as Asahi Corporation for shows like Shinchan, Doraemon, and Ninja Hattori. Award-winning Amazon Original series will be available exclusively to Prime customers such as Jeremy Clarkson’s The Grand Tour along with Indian original shows.
Many US TV shows will be available on Prime within a day of telecast, and the selection includes some of 2016’s most awarded shows. Original production like Breathe, The Ministry, Powerplay, Mirzapur, Stardust, The Family Man are being brought for the Indian audience.
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.
