Layoffs Due to LLMs: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu Says Large Language Models Will Destroy Software Jobs in Future Amid Rise of AI

New Delhi, May 18: Software major Zoho’s Co-founder Sridhar Vembu on Sunday said that large language models (LLMs) will destroy a lot of software jobs in the future, As AI adoption surges across industries. His remarks align with growing apprehensions about AI replacing millions of jobs soon.

“I have often said this to our employees: the fact that software engineers get paid better than mechanical engineers or civil engineers or chemists or school teachers is not some birthright and we cannot take that for granted, and we cannot assume it will last forever,” Vembu said in a post on X social media platform. Sridhar Vembu, Zoho’s Chief Scientist, Warns About Risk Associated Software Engineer Jobs, Says LLMs and Tooling Could Lead to Layoffs and ‘Only Paranoids Survive’.

Software Engineer Jobs at Risk Due to LLMs: Sridhar Vembu

I have often said this to our employees: the fact that software engineers get paid better than mechanical engineers or civil engineers or chemists or school teachers is not some birthright and we cannot take that for granted, and we cannot assume it will last forever.

The fact…

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) May 18, 2025

“The fact that customers pay for our products also cannot be taken for granted. This is to remind ourselves that we can be ‘disrupted’ — and the more we assume we won’t be, the more likely we will be. Or as Andy Grove of Intel said ‘Only the paranoid survive,’” he mentioned. Last month, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that up to 40 per cent of global jobs could be affected by AI.

According to Vembu, “the productivity revolution I see coming to software development (LLMs + tooling) could destroy a lot of software jobs. This is sobering but necessary to internalise”. Earlier this month, Zoho put its ambitious $700 million semiconductor chip manufacturing project on hold, and the company’s Co-founder Sridhar Vembu said they were not confident enough in the current technology path to proceed. Vembu explained that since chip fabrication is a highly capital-intensive business, it needs strong government support. VerSe Layoffs: Dailyhunt and Josh Parent Company To Cut 350 Jobs This Month Amid Restructuring and Focus on AI.

“On our semiconductor fab investment plan, since this business is so capital intensive, it requires government backing, we wanted to be absolutely sure of the technology path before we take taxpayer money,” Vembu wrote on X social media platform. He added that they did not have that confidence in the tech so the board decided to shelve this idea for the time being, “until we find a better tech approach”.

(The above story first appeared on Pune Media on May 18, 2025 11:37 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website Pune Media.com).

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