iWorld
Delhi High Court to hear plea against Netflix web series ‘Hasmukh’
MUMBAI: The Delhi High Court on Monday will hear a plea by a lawyer seeking to restrain Netflix from streaming a web series. The lawyer community has taken umbrage at the Netflix web series Hasmukh, because it “maligns their image and reputation.”
The plea, moved by Supreme Court lawyer Ashutosh Dubey, points out that in episode 4 of the web series, lawyers have been branded as “thieves, scoundrels, goons and rapists.”
The lawyer wants deletion of the contents from the series. He has also sought court directions to the producers, directors and writer of the series to tender an unconditional apology for “maligning the image of the lawyers' community.”
"Statements (in the series) are highly disparaging, defamatory and bring disrepute to the profession of law, and lawyers and advocates in the eyes of the general public," said Dubey.
While seeking a permanent injunction on airing the series, the advocate has maintained in his suit that the said remarks have “caused utmost damage to the legal profession and impugned the image of lawyers in the eyes of millions of viewers/subscribers, who visit the streaming website where the show is being streamed."
iWorld
Snapchat parent Snap cuts 16 per cent of workforce in AI-driven restructuring
The Snapchat parent is axing around 1,000 jobs and closing 300 open roles to save $500m, as artificial intelligence makes smaller teams the new normal
CALIFORNIA: Snap is snapping. The Snapchat parent has confirmed plans to cut around 1,000 employees, roughly 16 per cent of its full-time workforce, as it bets that artificial intelligence can do what headcount once required. Shares jumped more than 10 per cent in premarket trading on the news, a brisk vote of confidence from a market that has watched the stock shed about 31 per cent this year.
The restructuring, which also closes more than 300 open roles, follows pressure from activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which holds an economic interest of about 2.5 per cent in the company and has been loudly pushing Snap to tighten its portfolio and lift performance. The firm got what it asked for, and then some.
Chief executive Evan Spiegel told employees the cuts would reduce annualised expenses by more than $500m by the second half of the year. The company expects to incur charges of between $95m and $130m related to the layoffs, mostly severance, with the bulk landing in the second quarter. Staff in Snap’s North America team were asked to work from home on the day of the announcement.
The financial backdrop is not without bright spots. Snap expects first-quarter revenue to rise around 12 per cent to approximately $1.53 billion, broadly in line with analyst estimates. Adjusted core profit for the January to March quarter is forecast at about $233m, comfortably ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $186.8m.
The harder question surrounds Specs, Snap’s augmented reality smart glasses subsidiary, which Irenic has urged the company to spin off or shut down entirely. The unit has absorbed more than $3.5 billion in investment and burns through approximately $500m in cash annually. Snap is pressing ahead regardless, with a consumer product expected later this year, even as Meta leads the market in the segment.
Spiegel is betting that leaner teams, smarter machines and a consumer AR play can restore Snap’s credibility with investors who have run out of patience. The redundancy notices have gone out. The harder restructuring, the one that requires a hit product rather than a headcount reduction, is still very much pending.
