Sridhar Vembu faces flak and a question: What are you calling back Indians for?

After announcing a freeze on annual appraisals at Zoho to avoid layoffs, tech entrepreneur Sridhar Vembu is facing criticism over his earlier appeal to Indians in the US to return home and build in India following disruptions to the Green Card process. However, Vembu has doubled down on his call, urging Indian and Indian-origin engineers and entrepreneurs to return from the US and contribute to India's growth.

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has doubled down on his call for Indian-origin engineers and entrepreneurs in the US to return home, arguing that "there are a million things to build in India". The renewed appeal comes on the same day Vembu, who returned to India from the US, announced that Zoho would have no performance appraisals or salary increments this year as the software company attempts to avoid mass layoffs. His call has drawn criticism, with questions being raised about the opportunities awaiting returning professionals amid challenges facing the domestic tech industry, even as Zoho grapples with rising costs and mounting financial pressures.

Hours after announcing the decision to forgo appraisals at Zoho, Vembu took to X on Tuesday to argue that Indians facing an increasingly uncertain future in the US should return home rather than struggle to stay in a country that no longer wants them.

"When another country tells you to go home, you come home. What is the alternative? Beg them to allow us to stay? Stay illegally? There are a million things to build in India, even if software is saturated or goes away," Vembu wrote.

Vembu's remarks come amid growing uncertainty for Indian technology professionals in the US following the American government's move to bar eight IT firms, including Microsoft, Tata, Wipro and Infosys, from participating in the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme, a key step in the employer-sponsored Green Card process.

After Vembu announced that his organisation wouold skip appraisals, several people questioned his stance on asking Indians to return from the US.

"He [Sridhar Vembu] is on the verge of mass laying off in his own company, while constantly urging NRIs to return immediately to build a New India. Unreal," AI mentor and educationist Sandeep Manudhane posted on X.

A user on X, Vineet K, questioned Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu's call for non-resident Indians (NRIs) to return to India and build businesses, pointing to the company's own financial challenges.

"Don't get me wrong. I have deep respect for Zoho and Sridhar Vembu sir for what they have built. Zoho is a poster child for Indian software companies, proving that we can build global businesses from India," Vineet wrote.

Vineet also added that Zoho's decision to withhold regular salary hikes raised questions about the opportunities awaiting returning professionals. He also claimed that Zoho had been struggling with its business outlook for 18 months and had not increased its headcount.

Vineet further argued that while patriotism could inspire Indians abroad to return home, it could not substitute for a strong business environment, access to capital, customers and sustainable employment opportunities.

"We need people to return and build in India. But we also need to create an ecosystem where they can actually succeed," he wrote.

SRIDHAR VEMBU URGES INDIANS TO BUILD IN INDIA

On October 8, the US government barred the eight companies from submitting new PERM applications or having pending applications processed, potentially complicating the long-term immigration plans of Indian professionals working for the affected firms.

Reacting to the decision by the US, Vembu argued that Indians had contributed significantly to America's technological growth but were increasingly unwelcome in parts of the country.

"Indians have made a major contribution to America's technological prowess. Yet, a big part of America no longer wants us," he wrote in an earlier post on X.

The Zoho founder also highlighted the uncertainty facing Indians working in the US on visas, saying they could be forced to uproot lives built through years of hard work.

"Indians who are on a visa in the US face the painful prospect of uprooting the life you have built with hard work. Let this be the birth pains of a bold new future. Come back, let's build India," Vembu said.

His appeal came as immigration restrictions and uncertainty over employment-based residency pathways weigh on the plans of Indian technology workers seeking to settle in the US.

VEMBU ANNOUNCED NO APPRAISALS IN ZOHO AMID RISING COSTS

Vembu's call for Indians to return home comes at a difficult time for Zoho, which is also attempting to rein in expenses amid rising costs associated with artificial intelligence.

The Zoho founder said the company had been cutting costs across different areas, including marketing, as it seeks to avoid layoffs. The company has also decided against its usual annual pay increases this year.

In a post on X, Vembu acknowledged the impact of the decision on employees and said he had apologised for being unable to avoid it.

"We have cut down on our marketing budget. We have also told our employees that we cannot have our usual pay increase this year," he wrote. "I have apologised for not being able to avoid this."

The decision means Zoho employees will not receive their usual annual salary increases this year, with the company prioritising cost control amid mounting financial pressures.

While he has urged Indians abroad to return and help build the domestic technology ecosystem, Zoho's decision to freeze annual pay increases underscores the financial constraints that companies in India are also confronting.

- Ends