iWorld
Special Ops 2 turns spy games into cyber lessons for a nation on edge
MUMBAI: When Special Ops 2.0 stormed onto JioHotstar, it wasn’t just another slick return for Kay Kay Menon’s unflappable Himmat Singh. This season traded bullets for breaches, exposing the murky world of cyber warfare, where the enemies aren’t men in balaclavas but faceless hackers armed with AI and a knack for digital deceit.
Leaning hard into real-world relevance, the campaign flipped a spy thriller into a wake-up call. Through partnerships with WhatsApp, Truecaller, and Paytm, Himmat himself schooled India on phishing scams, deepfakes, and UPI fraud. From a staged “leaked” document that redirected users to a PSA video to hyper-local AI-generated trailers calling out neighbourhoods by name, Special Ops 2.0 made cyber-threats impossible to ignore, reaching over 10 million users and sparking 22.4 million social interactions.
More than a campaign, it became a movement. Himmat’s rallying cry—“Yeh Himmat Ka Kaam Hai”—triggered a wave of user-generated content, racking up 3 million views and 13,000 organic posts. Fiction bled into fact, and India found itself bingeing not just on espionage, but on digital literacy.
In a world of data leaks and deepfakes, Special Ops 2.0 didn’t just entertain. It armed a nation, one click at a time.
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iWorld
Netflix cuts jobs in product division amid restructuring
Layoffs hit creative studio unit as leadership and strategy shifts unfold.
MUMBAI: The streaming wars may be fought on screen, but the latest plot twist is unfolding behind the scenes. Netflix has reportedly begun laying off several dozen employees from its product division as part of an internal reorganisation, according to a report by Variety. The cuts are believed to have primarily affected the company’s creative studio unit, which works on marketing assets such as in app trailers, promotional visuals and live experience content for the streaming platform.
The company has not disclosed the exact number of employees impacted.
According to the report, the layoffs were not tied to employee performance. Instead, the restructuring eliminated certain roles while other employees were reassigned to different teams within the organisation.
The roles affected are understood to include designers, producers and creative specialists responsible for marketing and brand experience initiatives.
The job cuts come as Netflix adjusts its leadership structure and reshapes its product and creative teams. Last month, Elizabeth Stone was promoted from chief technology officer to chief product and technology officer, giving her oversight of product, engineering and data operations across the company.
Earlier, in December 2025, Netflix also appointed Martin Rose as head of creative for global brand and partnerships, a move seen as part of a broader restructuring of the company’s brand and product functions.
Despite the layoffs, Netflix remains one of the largest employers in the streaming sector. The company is estimated to employ around 16,000 people globally, with roughly 70 percent of its workforce based in the United States and Canada. In 2023, the company reported approximately 13,000 employees, indicating that its headcount had grown significantly before the latest restructuring.
The workforce changes arrive at a time when Netflix is navigating a shifting financial and strategic landscape in the global entertainment industry.
The streaming giant recently secured $2.8 billion in additional cash after receiving a breakup fee from Paramount Skydance following its withdrawal from a deal involving Warner Bros. Discovery.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Netflix co chief executive Ted Sarandos explained that the company had evaluated multiple scenarios during the negotiations but chose not to match the competing offer once it learned that a higher bid had been submitted.
Netflix had capped its offer at $27.75 per share and ultimately stepped back rather than pursue Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition deal, which included a personal guarantee.
Sarandos also cautioned that the financing structure behind the Paramount Skydance transaction could have ripple effects across the entertainment industry.
According to him, the debt heavy deal could trigger significant cost cutting, with David Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance, expected to eliminate about $16 billion in costs and potentially cut thousands of jobs as part of the integration process.
For Netflix, the current restructuring appears to be part of a broader attempt to streamline operations while continuing to invest in product, technology and global content even as the streaming industry enters a new phase of consolidation and financial discipline.
