Zoho Refuses Layoffs as Sridhar Vembu Cites AI Expenses and Growth

Zoho founder and chief scientist Sridhar Vembu has reiterated his firm's commitment to avoiding mass layoffs, positioning the company's strategy in contrast to widespread workforce reductions across the software-as-a-service sector. While acknowledging that job cuts have become standard practice for many competitors navigating economic pressures and artificial intelligence adoption, Vembu affirmed that Zoho will prioritize internal workforce retraining and redeployment instead.

The statements arrive as global technology firms face escalating infrastructure costs linked to computing power, data storage, and hardware hardware investments. As reported by Business Today, Vembu noted that despite ongoing business expansion, operational cost pressures have intensified, prompting the enterprise to adopt a long-term strategy distinct from venture capital funded or publicly traded technology firms. Why Zoho Froze Salary Hikes?.

Retraining Strategy and Official Statement

Contrasting Zoho's approach with competitor Airtable, which recently announced significant workforce reductions to transition toward leaner team structures, Vembu emphasized that productivity gains enabled by artificial intelligence should facilitate skill reassignment rather than job losses. He outlined that employees impacted by automated efficiency are being retrained to support new product development and enhance customer operations.

Addressing the industry trend, Vembu detailed the company's position on social media. Here's Official Sridhar Vembu statement:

From Airtable, a Saas competitor: "Today we’re laying off a large part of the Airtable team. This is not a reflection of their work but a reflection of our deep belief that small teams ship more and better."

This is normal in Saas. This is what we have refused to do.

When AI productivity enables smaller teams, we retrain people to deploy on new products or helping customers better.

Our business is growing but there is a lot of pressure on the cost side (data center and AI costs). We have chosen a different approach than VC-funded and public companies.

We will see in 2030.

Cost Control Measures and Industry Outlook

To manage rising operational expenses without reducing headcount, Zoho has already implemented targeted cost-cutting measures, including trimming marketing budgets and pausing annual salary increases for 2026. Server hardware expenses for data centres have quadrupled due to growing artificial intelligence workloads, creating sustained financial headwinds alongside volatile geopolitical conditions. No Salary Hikes at Zoho: Are Mass Layoffs Coming to the Software Major? Know What Sridhar Vembu Said.

The software company has maintained a stable headcount without expanding its employee base over the past 18 months as it undergoes a broader operational reinvention. The corporate challenges at Zoho reflect a broader pattern across the global technology sector, where major firms including Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft, and Meta have executed substantial job cuts to manage shifting market demands.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 15, 2026 11:51 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).