{
  "id": 14165370,
  "title": "'Pray for us,' Vembu says as Zoho skips pay hikes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/pray-for-us-vembu-says-as-zoho-skips-pay-hikes",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-13T05:31:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Economic Times",
    "slug": "the-economic-times",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ai/ai-insights/please-pray-for-us-says-sridhar-vembu-as-zoho-skips-usual-pay-hikes-amid-rising-ai-costs/articleshow/134908839.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Zoho halts 2026 salary hikes, looks to ‘avoid mass layoffs’ amid surging AI costs",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/zoho-halts-2026-salary-hikes-looks-to-avoid-mass-layoffs-amid-surging",
        "published": "2026-10-13T05:55:34.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Press Journal",
        "title": "Zoho Skips 2026 Salary Hikes As AI Costs Surge; Sridhar Vembu Says Outlook For Software Jobs Is ‘Grim’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/zoho-skips-2026-salary-hikes-as-ai-costs-surge-sridhar-vembu-says",
        "published": "2026-10-13T06:48:29.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Business Standard IN",
        "title": "Zoho freezes annual salary hikes as AI costs rise, software market slows",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/zoho-freezes-annual-salary-hikes-as-ai-costs-rise-software-market",
        "published": "2026-10-13T12:21:45.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}