Zoho pauses salary hikes amid AI costs

Zoho has paused annual salary hikes for its employees this year as it manages surging costs tied to AI and a tough macroeconomic environment, reports The Times of India. Founder Sridhar Vembu cited a fourfold jump in server prices for data centres and rising operational expenses from AI tools as primary financial drivers, along with complex geopolitical headwinds. "We have cut down on our marketing budget. We have also told our employees that we cannot have our usual pay increase this year. I have apologised for not being able to avoid this. We will work hard to avoid mass layoffs but the outlook for software jobs in general is grim. We have not been growing our employee count for 18 months now," Vembu said in a post on social media. The article also includes reactions and commentary from LinkedIn users, discussing the trade-off between job security and salary increases, and the broader impact on the tech industry.

(Source：LinkedIn)