AI may disrupt software engineering salaries and roles, warns Zoho founder

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has cautioned that software engineers should not expect their current high salaries to last indefinitely, as rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) could fundamentally reshape the IT sector. His remarks underscore growing concerns within the tech industry that AI tools and large language models (LLMs) are poised to disrupt not just job roles, but also compensation structures.

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Vembu pointed out that the premium pay currently enjoyed by software developers is not a given and may be vulnerable as AI automates more of their tasks. With tools becoming increasingly capable of writing, testing, and debugging code, the demand for traditional software engineering roles could decline, he warned. The evolution of AI is expected to usher in a productivity revolution, potentially displacing a significant portion of the software workforce.

Industry research echoes these concerns. Studies from McKinsey, PwC, and the World Economic Forum indicate that up to 60% of current jobs could be transformed or eliminated by 2050. McKinsey forecasts that by 2030, 30% of U.S. jobs could be automated. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum projects that as much as 40% of software programming tasks could be automated by 2040, shifting the focus of engineers toward supervision and complex problem-solving.

Vembu’s warning comes amid a wave of AI-driven tools from companies like OpenAI and Google, which are accelerating the transition toward AI-first software development.