iWorld
Netflix hires TV vet Sameer Sabnis as manager for physical production
MUMBAI: Netflix India is plumping up its local talent. Amongst the latest to be hired is television veteran Sameer Sabnis who joined the company earlier this month as manager –physical production.
In the Netflix scheme of things, Sabnis is expected “to help manage both internal and third party co-productions from an international originals perspective to support international original series. Responsibilities include establishing and curating vendor and staff/crew relations, reviewing budgets and supporting/suggesting best practices from pre production through delivery.”
Sabnis has extensive work experience having worked with Star India and Fox Television Studios as technical director and as vice-president- creative and production. After a short stint with Reliance Mediaworks in 2011, he moved onto media advisory practice Benchmark Media Advisory Services for five years. Following that he turned consultant helping Discovery Communications on its production management during the launch phases of Discovery Kids and Jeet and is also advising the Sameer Nair-headed Applause Entertainment as it builds its programming slate.
Sabnis is believed to have a keen eye for the picture having worked as a cinematographer and director of photography and producer and director for numerous TVCs, documentaries and sports films.
Meanwhile, Netflix continues to search for more of the core team that it wants to bring on board as it ramps up its local production slate in the country. Among the positions it is looking to fill up include: director international originals in India, manager post-production –international originals etc.
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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.
