Artificial Intelligence is changing the world we live in and the offices in which we work. While the impact of AI-driven automation can already be seen in many white-collar jobs, the tech industry is at the center of perhaps the biggest shift. From vibration coding to accelerating complex development tasks, companies are increasingly turning to AI to revamp their organizational structures. Many human jobs are at risk by extension. Zoho, the Indian brand with global ambitions, and its executives also appear to be at a major crossroads.
In a recent post on
“Every industry reaches a critical productivity point after which the number of jobs in that industry begins to decline. We have seen this repeatedly as productivity increases lead to a smaller workforce,” he wrote. “In the United States, about 1.5 percent of the workforce is in agriculture today, but they produce almost ten times more than about 40 percent before. Productivity has gone up. The workforce has shrunk. The same pattern developed in manufacturing. Now we’re seeing it in technology.”
Vegesna highlights how AI tools are already increasing the performance of engineers, meaning companies may need fewer people to deliver the same, or even better, results in the near and distant future. While it suggests this shift won’t happen overnight, over time AI will create fewer jobs overall, even as new roles emerge.
AI is already changing things at Zoho
And it’s not just Vegesna who is sounding the alarm about productivity increases translating into job cuts. Previously, Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu also spoke about the disruptive potential of AI in software development. In a series of posts, he pointed out how artificial intelligence is making senior engineers dramatically more productive, while reducing the need for large teams of junior developers.
“AI makes senior architects more productive and reduces the need for junior engineers,” Vembu wrote, adding that experienced engineers now act more like conductors of an orchestra, guiding AI tools to deliver complex results that previously required entire teams.
In another post sharing an example within Zoho, Vembu revealed how one of the company’s engineers recently built an advanced assembly and machine code security tool in just a month, a project that would traditionally take a team of three or four engineers close to a year. “He developed it alone, in a month, which a team of 3 or 4 people would have needed at least a year,” writes Vembu.
“He told me that he considered the Opus 4.5 AI model to be a game-changer. Until that model, he wasn’t that enthusiastic about AI-generated code, but now he’s revised his opinion.”
While Vembu encourages AI-led productivity gains, he also pointed to a growing dilemma going forward. He questioned that “but if we don’t have young engineers, we won’t be able to train the next generation of architects; after all, how can someone become a software architect without first being a junior engineer?” he wrote.
However, recognizing the extent to which AI is already changing the industry, Vembu said the technology is fundamentally reshaping and, in some respects, overtaking the workforce. “Powerful power looms have arrived for software development,” he wrote, “challenging the hand weavers we have been in software, and the implications are enormous.”
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