iWorld
Sony LIV rolls out digital film ‘Chhoti Khushi’ for Diwali
MUMBAI: In the lead up to the festival of Diwali, Sony Pictures Networks’ (erstwhile Multi Screen Media) OTT platform Sony LIV has rolled out a digital film called Chhoti Khushi to support its social media campaign ‘LIV This Diwali.’
The film features Naveen Kasturia, Suneel Sinha and Ashish Verma. The social media campaign weaved around the digital film invites participants and viewers to send Diwali Wishes to their family and friends.
The story explores the complex relationship that Indian siblings share with each other, and how Diwali can become the raison d’etre for bringing together those, whom circumstances and situations often pull apart.
Chhoti Khushi is about two brothers, Gaurav and Sharad, who have stopped talking to each other following an argument. However, as the momentous occasion of Diwali approaches, the brothers reminisce about each other and realise how petty their fight was.
The film was meant for especially for the millennial audience, which knows how tough it is to maintain the delicate balance between education, work and commitment to friends and family over ever-increasing distances. The story takes viewers through an eventful journey that finally results in the brothers being reunited on Diwali.
Sony LIV EVP and head – digital business Uday Sodhi said, “With #LoveBytes and Tanlines, we have established our pioneering status in the industry as the first digital video-on-demand (VOD) platform to introduce a show exclusively for online viewers. With the launch of Chhoti Khushi, we are looking to providing our digital viewers with a heart-touching story that is bound to take their web content entertainment experience to a new level.”
The film was aired exclusively on Sony LIV’s web, app and YouTube platforms from 4 November onwards.
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.
