IITs cut ties with 22 firms for two placement seasons over withdrawn job offers
IITs' All India Placement Committee has ended dealings with 22 companies, including Oracle, that withdrew job offers to over 150 students.
Ahead of the new placement season, the All India Placement Committee (AIPC), which represents the country's IITs, has taken action against 22 companies that had offered students jobs and later withdrew those offers. All ties with these companies have been ended for the next two campus placement seasons. AIPC has termed the action "non-cooperation" rather than blacklisting.
The decision was taken at a meeting held at IIT Guwahati earlier this month and could bring relief to more than 150 affected students. According to sources, several major tech companies and startups are on the list, including Oracle, which is reported to have cancelled more than a dozen offers. IIT administrations are now sending affected students' CVs to other recruiters to help them find jobs elsewhere.
The action against the 22 companies was decided in view of the difficulties caused to students whose job offers were withdrawn.
AIPC is a central body that oversees guidelines related to placements and internships across IIT campuses. According to AIPC, the cases involve more than 150 offers across 23 IITs. Some companies withdrew between 10 and 15 offers each.
The panel has decided not to use the term blacklisting for the action against the companies; IITs will refer to it as non-cooperation instead. John Jose, AIPC coordinator and associate professor at IIT Guwahati, said several companies had withdrawn offers made to students, but he did not publicly name the companies.
According to campus sources, Oracle is among the companies against which non-cooperation action has been in effect for the past two years. Sources claim the company did not honour around 40 offers made to IIT students. During this period, Oracle also carried out layoffs worldwide, the effects of which were seen in India as well. Several startups are also reported to be on the list.
Placement offices at IITs have become active in helping students whose job offers were cancelled. These offices have shared affected students' CVs with existing recruiters and requested that companies consider these candidates for vacant positions.
It is estimated that about 20 to 30 percent of the students affected by the cancelled offers have found jobs through contact between placement offices and companies. However, it is not yet clear whether all the remaining affected students will be placed again. The exact number of students still looking for jobs is not known, as some students are securing jobs by applying directly outside the campus process without informing their institute.
