iWorld
Asia Video Summit returns next month with a focus on growth and sustainability
MUMBAI: The annual marquee event of the Asian video industry, the Asia Video Summit will return as a full hybrid event this year on 1-2 November. There will be physical events in both Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as a live stream of all sessions to be made available on its interactive event platform.
The Asia Video Summit is organised by Asia Video Industry Association (Avia) with Create Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as the lead sponsor. The aim of the Asia Video Summit is to tell a holistic story of the state of the video industry, looking at all aspects of it and articulated by its decision makers, to provide its delegates with a comprehensive view of the state of the video industry today.
In the post-COVID-19 era, media and entertainment companies have been the darlings of Wall Street. This narrative has recently changed, however, and arguably irrational exuberance has given way to irrational pessimism. But is the streaming business model fundamentally flawed, or is this just a recalibration in an era of inflation and post-pandemic trauma? How do the trajectories of investment vs monetization balance each other? And where does Asia sit compared to other parts of the world? Do subscriber numbers foretell a golden period of growth in Asia that can counter negative narratives from the West?
At this year’s Summit, they will be speaking to the people who are determining the future of the video industry in Asia. Besides the state and future of the video industry, they will also explore the growing role and advance of advertising, the technology behind the customer experience, a detailed look at the role of news and sports today and the burning topic of environmental sustainability.
Some of the key speakers of the Summit include:
-A+E Networks managing director Asia Saugato Banerjee
– StarHub chief of consumer business group Johan Buse
– True Corporation deputy director, planning & business development, strategic content group Kirana Chew
– Media Partners Asia executive director Vivek Couto
– Warner Bros. Discovery president & managing director Western Pacific James Gibbons
– BBC Studios senior vice president & general manager Asia Phil Hardman
– Astro vice president, head of sports Nicholas John
– Zee5 chief business officer Manish Kalra
– beIN Asia Pacific managing director Asia Mike Kerr
– Disney Streaming head of product – developing markets Sidd Mantri
– Airtel Ads CEO Vignesh Narayanan
– Mediacorp chief commercial officer, chief digital officer Parminder Singh
– TVING CEO Jay Yang
– Media Prima Television Networks deputy CEO Nini Yusof
The Asia Video Summit is sponsored by Gold Sponsors Brightcove, BytePlus, INVIDI, PubMatic, Tencent Cloud, TV5Monde, Silver Sponsors AsiaSat, Broadpeak, Dolby, Edgio, Google, Gracenote, InvestHK, Irdeto, Magnite, Measat, Mirada, Nagra, SES, Synamedia. Create Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as the lead sponsor supports the Community Outreach Programme that provides complimentary passes for local video and creative industries-related SMEs and tertiary students to participate in the virtual Summit. Complimentary in-person Mentoring Workshops will also be held on 10 November to provide tips about the media industry.
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.
