It is a strange pairing of messages from one man in a single day. In the morning, Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu told his own employees that there would be no usual pay increase this year. Hours later, he was urging Indian engineers and entrepreneurs in the US to consider moving back to India.

What Vembu told Zoho employees

In a post on X, Vembu said the company has been cutting costs in several areas, including marketing. He said Zoho had also told employees that it could not give its usual pay rise this year, and he apologised for not being able to avoid that. Reports describe rising operating costs, including those linked to artificial intelligence, along with a difficult economic and geopolitical climate as the reasons.

He was candid about the wider picture. He said Zoho will work hard to avoid mass layoffs, but that the outlook for software jobs in general is grim. Zoho’s headcount has not grown for about 18 months, and he said most employees understand the situation. He also asked people to “pray” for the company and suggested the cost pressure could be a longer-term challenge, not a passing one. Reports quote him saying the next three to five years will be important for Zoho.

Then came the appeal to the diaspora

Later the same day, Vembu renewed his call to Indians and people of Indian origin in the US to return home. He framed it as an opportunity: even if software jobs shrink, India has “a million things to build”, and returnees can make a real impact.

The timing is no coincidence. The appeal came days after the US suspended new and pending PERM applications involving several major tech and IT outsourcing firms, including Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro and HCL, which has left many Indian workers on H-1B visas facing uncertainty about their green card path.

A message that fits his own story

Vembu has been making this case for years, and he has lived it. He moved to Tenkasi in Tamil Nadu in 2019 and has since run much of his work from a rural base. He stepped back from the CEO role in January 2025 to focus on research and development as Zoho’s chief scientist, and Shailesh Kumar Davey took over as group CEO.

The tension in the two messages

There is an obvious question. How does a company that is freezing pay and warning about job pressure also invite people to leave stable careers abroad and return? Vembu’s answer, as reported, is that the answer lies in what is being built, not in how many people are being hired. The argument is that India’s opportunity is in creating products and businesses, not in waiting for the old pipeline of software jobs.

Critics may see it differently. Moving a family across continents is a big decision, and a founder’s optimism doesn’t change the fact that his own company is tightening its belt. We have not seen a response from Zoho beyond Vembu’s posts, or any data on how many professionals are actually returning.

What it means for the tech workforce

For tech workers, the message is mixed. The broader mood is cautious: companies are watching costs, the US visa route is under pressure, and AI is changing both budgets and hiring. For Zoho employees in particular, the most important line is that the company is trying to avoid mass layoffs, though a promise to try is not a guarantee.

What happens next

We will be watching for any formal communication from Zoho to staff, any change in its position on layoffs, and any reaction from other Indian tech firms.

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