No appraisal for Zoho staffers? Sridhar Vembu cites rising AI costs, says ‘usual pay increase’ unlikely this year

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."Zoho co-founder says outlook…