New Delhi, Oct. 13 -- Sridhar Vembu, co-founder of Zoho, said on Tuesday that employees would not receive their usual pay increase this year, citing an uncertain software business outlook, rising costs linked to artificial intelligence (AI), and a challenging geopolitical backdrop.

In a post on X, Vembu wrote, "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 apologized for not being able to avoid this."

He further said, "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."

Highlighting the challenges, Vembu described the business outlook for soft...