Zoho freezes 2026 salary hikes as AI infrastructure costs surge

Zoho is freezing annual salary increases for all employees in 2026 as rising AI infrastructure costs and an uncertain software market pressure spending. Co-founder Sridhar Vembu said server prices have quadrupled and the company has not hired in 18 months, aiming to avoid mass layoffs.

• Zoho freezes annual salary hikes for all employees in 2026
• Server prices quadrupled, raising data centre costs for AI workloads
• Company has not hired new employees in 18 months
• Vembu says goal is to avoid mass layoffs; marketing budget trimmed