Zoho layoffs: Sridhar Vembu's firm laid off 300 employees without prior warning? Here's all about the social media buzz

Social media is abuzz that Zoho, the Indian multinational technology company, laid off 300 employees without a warning. A post is doing the rounds online which alleges that the company removed nearly 300 freshers without warning. The anonymous post about Zoho's layoffs surfaced a day ago on the Blind app, an allegation denied by the company.

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Zoho layoffs

Zoho, a cloud-based enterprise software company, has denied the claims that 300 employees were laid off without prior notice, reports Hindustan Times. The company confirmed that that its 3-decade no-layoffs streak remains unbroken.

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Why the buzz?

A post went viral online which read: “Recently got laid off from Zoho without any prior notice.” The user further claimed that nearly “300 trainees were suddenly let go”, allegedly linked to internal discussions about replacing senior staff with trainees.

The post also highlighted personal concerns, stating: “I had chosen Zoho over other offers like TCS, Cognizant, and Capgemini because I was genuinely excited about the opportunity. At those companies, I might have at least had some stability, even if it meant being on the bench for a while,” the staffer said. “This situation has hit me hard. I come from a financially struggling background, and this job wasn’t just a career step. It was something my family was depending on.”

Zoho issues clarification

Zoho clarified that the post confused its internship programme with full-time employment. According to the company, no full-time employees were laid off. Mohammed Sohail, Associate Director - Talent Acquisition and Global HR Operations at Zoho Corp, told HT: “The post in question appears to conflate our internship programme with employment. These are distinct: internships are learning engagements that do not automatically guarantee a full-time role.”

He added: “From the 2026 intern cohort, over 30% of candidates have already received offers or are currently under evaluation for full-time employment. This is in addition to the freshers who were hired, and will be joining as employees after completing their course.”

“Describing interns who were not offered a position as 'laid off' is factually incorrect. Interns who demonstrated exceptional ability have been or will be absorbed into the company. Others will complete their internships as scheduled, and will be free to apply for other jobs.”

Zoho Corporation did not lay off employees during the Covid pandemic period, nor during the AI boom that began in late 2023. Its co-founder and then-CEO Sridhar Vembu also stated in 2023 that the company had no plans to cut jobs, even amid slowing revenue growth.