India's Tech Poster Child Sridhar Vembu of Zoho Faces Reality Check, Flak Over Grim Outlook |Vantage

Zoho’s Cost Pressures and the Call to Return to India

The report examines the tension between Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu’s appeal to Indian professionals facing visa uncertainty in the US to return and build businesses in India, and the financial pressures he says Zoho is confronting.

Vembu said AI-related expenses have sharply raised operating costs, including a fourfold increase in data-centre server prices and higher costs for AI use. To contain costs and avoid mass layoffs, Zoho will forgo its usual salary increases this year. The company has not expanded its headcount in 18 months and is undergoing an internal restructuring. Vembu also warned that the outlook for software jobs is bleak.

Debate Over Returning to India

Vembu’s appeal to Indian-origin professionals to come home—arguing that “there are a million things” to build in India—prompted criticism and debate. The report questions how that nation-building message fits with employees being asked to do more for the same pay.

It acknowledges Vembu’s record of building a global software company in India, but argues that appeals to patriotism alone cannot guarantee stable work or make returning viable.

What Returning Professionals Need

The report notes India’s large market, digital economy and skilled workforce. It also emphasizes that returning professionals need investment, strong institutions, room to take risks, competitive pay, career growth and job security.

Zoho’s cost-cutting, the report argues, raises broader questions about whether India’s job market can absorb more technology workers.

Additional Coverage

The video ends with a promotional segment for Firstpost’s coverage of the US midterm elections.

Presenter: Khimkor Saroja.