'Pray for us,' Vembu says as Zoho skips pay hikes

Zoho's founder and chief scientist, Sridhar Vembu, has requested prayers for the company as it skips annual pay raises for employees due to soaring artificial intelligence costs. The tech giant is grappling with higher server prices and growing expenses from AI usage, while facing an uncertain outlook for software jobs. Vembu informed employees that the company has cut its marketing budget and is taking steps to avoid mass layoffs.

He emphasized that the company has not grown its employee count in the past 18 months and expressed concern over the grim outlook for software jobs in general. Despite the challenges, Vembu assured that Zoho is not replacing support engineers, and the current workforce remains in place. The company is undergoing a period of reinvention, and Vembu expressed gratitude to employees for their understanding and resilience during these difficult times.