Zoho's Sridhar Vembu Sounds Alarm on Education Loans Amid AI-Driven IT Job Crisis
- Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu warns students against taking large education loans amid declining IT job opportunities due to AI disruption.
- Zoho and other tech giants like TCS and Microsoft have reduced hiring or laid off thousands as AI transforms job roles.
- Vembu urges companies to invest in skill-based training and recognize alternative credentials over traditional degrees.
Sridhar Vembu, Chief Scientist and Co-founder of software giant Zoho, has urged students and parents to think carefully before taking on large education loans, especially in light of the declining job opportunities in the Information Technology (IT) sector due to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and job automation.
Vembu shared his concerns on social media platform X, citing a distressing example of a student who took a loan of Rs 70 lakh (approximately $80,000) at 12% interest to pursue a master’s degree from a lesser-known U.S. college. The student is now struggling to find employment, with loan repayments about to begin.
“The job scene in IT is bad, especially for foreign students”, Vembu posted. “We at Zoho are also not hiring much right now as we prepare for the AI era. We prefer not to resort to layoffs, so we’re being cautious.”
The Zoho founder warned that education should not become a trap for young people, burdening them with heavy debt in an increasingly uncertain job market. He stressed the need for more industry-led training programs and alternative credentials to replace traditional degrees.
“The only smart course is for employers to fund training programs and for the industry to accept alternative credentials rather than always demanding formal degrees”, Vembu said. “Our best investment has been in skill development, and I hope more companies adopt this approach”.
His warning comes amid large-scale layoffs across major tech firms. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) recently let go of 12,000 employees, while Microsoft laid off 15,000 workers in 2025, citing skill mismatches and the restructuring of roles due to AI and automation. Regular IT roles like back-office support, software engineering, and IT helpdesk have been hit the hardest.
India’s IT industry association Nasscom has also flagged that the sector is at a major inflection point, pushing for urgent upskilling and cross-skilling in AI-driven capabilities to help professionals stay relevant in the evolving digital landscape.
