iWorld
Excel Entertainment appoints Vishal Ramchandani as CEO
Mumbai, India – Excel Entertainment has announced the appointment of Vishal Ramchandani as the company’s new CEO. Ramchandani, who has been with Excel since 2008, has been instrumental in the company’s success, having served as the Business Head since 2018.
An MBA by academic qualification, Ramchandani started his career in film as a Marketing Professional at Excel Entertainment. Over the years, he has proven himself to be one of the strongest marketing minds in the industry, having led award-winning marketing campaigns for films such as Fukrey, Baar Baar Dekho, Gold, and Gully Boy. Within five years of joining the company, he was entrusted with the duties of heading Excel’s marketing division in 2013.
As business head, Ramchandani played a pivotal role in transforming Excel Entertainment from a creative production house to a studio that self-funds, markets and distributes their films. Under his leadership, the company branched into associating with diverse content such as KGF, which became a nationwide blockbuster. His vision as the Business Head amplified the growth of Excel by expanding into different verticals such as leading a talent division, carrying out co-production deals, as well as facilitating new media ventures and Pan-India films.
Ramchandani’s business and marketing acumen, combined with solid industry relationships, has made him a key Producer in the company. His efforts in building Excel Entertainment’s brand over the last decade have been pivotal in the company’s success. With his appointment as CEO, Ramchandani aspires to transform the company into a leading global creative studio.
Commenting on his appointment, Ramchandani said, “I am thrilled and humbled to take on the role of CEO at Excel Entertainment, a company that has been my home for the past 15 years. I am excited to build upon the company’s legacy of creative excellence and innovation. I am looking forward to working with our incredibly talented team to drive forward our vision for the future. With our planned expansion across verticals and the goal of transforming Excel into a global creative studio, I am confident that we will continue to push the boundaries of entertainment so as to bring exceptional content to audiences worldwide.”
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.
