iWorld
Multi-territory video streaming service Hooq files for liquidation
MUMBAI: Multi-territory video streaming service Hooq said last week that it has filed for liquidation as giant players are looking more into streaming services and the competition intensifies across the globe.
The service was launched in 2015 by the Singapore-based telecom company Singtel and was also backed by Warner and Sony. Along with India, Hooq was also available in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
“Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (“Singtel”) wishes to announce that HOOQ Digital Pte Ltd (“HOOQ”), a joint venture company in which Singtel has an indirect 76.5 per cent effective interest, has commenced a creditors’ voluntary liquidation. The liquidation of HOOQ is not expected to have any material impact on the net tangible assets or earnings per share of Singtel,” it said in a stock exchange filing.
According to media reports, Hooq said in a statement that it had been unable to grow fast enough to keep up with global and regional rivals, and also noted “significant structural changes” in the over-the-top (OTT) video market in the five years since its launch.
“Global and local content providers are increasingly going direct, the cost of content remains high, and emerging market consumers’ willingness to pay has increased only gradually amidst an increasing array of choices,” said Hooq.
“Because of these changes, a viable business model for an independent, over-the-top distribution platform has become increasingly challenged,” it added.
Hooq has appointed Messrs Lim Siew Soo and Brendon Yeo Sau Jin as its joint and several provisional liquidators. A shareholder meeting and creditors’ meeting have also been set for 13 April.
Back in 2018, Hooq struck a unique deal with India’s leading streaming service Hotstar. Under the partnership, HOOQ’s 6,000 hour catalogue of Hollywood TV shows and movies were made available for Hotstar Premium users. It also started offering more than Pay TV channels to their premium offering in partnership with brands across Asia.
Experts already warned about upcoming consolidations and exits in the media industry. Towards the end of 2019, Hong Kong-headquartered PCCW Media’s Asian video streaming service Viu also decided to fold its India operations.
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.
