iWorld
Social media ‘Ae Dil Lets Airbnb’ contest starts
NEW DELHI: A social media contest has been launched to celebrate the upcoming smash release of ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil,‘ a Bollywood feature starring Fawad Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Community-driven hospitality company Airbnb in its ‘Ae Dil Lets Airbnb’ contest gives participants a chance to live the ‘Ae Dil’ lifestyle by revisiting the characters’ on-screen journeys in London or Paris, including local recommendations from the stars such as Ranbir Kapoor’s favourite restaurant and Karan Johar’s preferred cafes and insider shopping spots.
This curated access to two of the world’s most dynamic cities mirrors the central ethos of Airbnb, offering unique, local insight that lets you “Live like a local.”
Dharma Productions head and director Karan Johar said: “London’s grandeur and the romance of Paris have always enticed Bollywood buffs from every generation. The contest is a great way for travelers and Bollywood aficionados to relive the romance of film. I am thrilled to see Airbnb recreate the ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ experience for fans by giving them a chance to win a transformative journey in two of the world’s most iconic cities.”
Prospective participants have to create a dream ‘Wishlist’ of five Airbnb properties in London or Paris on the Airbnb platform (either website or app). Participants can make as many wishlists as desired and title them under a cinematic name to increase their chances of winning. Two lucky winners will be selected based on the most creative name for their Wishlist and will get the chance to travel to either London or Paris with a guest.
The contest opened today and closes on 30 October 2016 at noon. Each of the two winners will receive (one winner for London and one winner for Paris) a 3 nights/4 days stay for the winner and one friend.
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.
