Zoho Corporation will skip annual salary increments this year, founder Sridhar Vembu announced on October 13, according to Daily Jagran. Vembu said rising AI-related data centre and server costs have sharply increased the company's expenses and reduced customer acquisition.
Vembu said the marketing budget is restricted and hiring is frozen for 18 months to avoid large-scale layoffs. He also said finding software opportunities will become harder as companies build their own custom software with AI tools. The outlet reports the announcement has drawn mixed reactions online.