iWorld
FirstPost leads with 673 per cent growth in YouTube views in three months
Mumbai: FirstPost, India’s leading digital news platform, has witnessed a massive 673 per cent growth in YouTube views since the launch of managing editor Palki Sharma’s show, ‘Vantage’ in late January this year. The show has been a game-changer for the platform, as it captivated global audiences with its gripping content.
The YouTube channel of FirstPost has garnered viewers from all over the world, with over 60 per cent of its audience coming from international locations.
Despite being a new entrant in video content production, the platform’s video pivot is paying off in the form of this remarkable growth. The YouTube channel of FirstPost had 11 million views in January, and following a staggering 673 per cent growth in video views, it reached an impressive 85 million views in April. The channel has also crossed one million subscribers on YouTube, cementing the platform’s position as one of the world’s top digital news platforms.
“The tremendous growth of FirstPost is proof that there is a growing audience for meaningful news content. The numbers give us the confidence to stay the course in an otherwise challenging media business environment. In the weeks ahead, we’ll introduce new offerings, as we continue to reimagine storytelling, disrupt formats and reach out to a diverse multimedia audience,” said FirstPost managing editor Palki Sharma.
FirstPost recently launched two additional shows on its YouTube channel. ‘Flashback,’ which airs on Saturdays at 8 PM, narrates the story of significant historical events in a simple and easy-to-understand manner. ‘Between The Lines,’ which airs on Sundays at 8 PM, goes beyond the usual headlines to provide audiences with the untold story.
Catering to a global audience, Vantage covers the biggest news stories from a 360-degree perspective, giving viewers a chance to assess the impact of world events through a uniquely Indian lens. The show goes beyond the headlines to uncover the hidden stories – making Vantage a destination for thought-provoking ideas. Vantage was launched on 26 January this year and aired Monday to Friday at 9 PM IST on FirstPost.com and Firstpost’s YouTube channel.
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.
