New Delhi: India's largest e-commerce firm Flipkart’s decision to defer joining dates of new recruits has now inspired IT companies to follow suit. Country’s sixth largest software firm L&T Infotech, a subsidiary of engineering giant Larsen & Toubro, has withdrawn offer letters to around 1,500 students.
The interviews all students, mostly from the 2015 batches of various Tamil Nadu colleges, were conducted in 2014 and after one and half years, a rejection letter has left them surprised and shocked.
Students say that they have received mails stating that they were rejected due to their performance in the test, a rule they had never heard of.
K Seetharaman, secretary of Knowledge Professional Forum, said that the firm had in 2014 decided to hire 5,000 professionals from 20-25 colleges across India. And after benching them for almost 18 months, the company held another online test in March this year.
"Almost 90 per cent of the 1,500 people who appeared for the test were not qualified and it clearly shows that the intention was not to hire them," he said.
This is the first time that an Indian IT firm has asked recruits to appear for another round of test after campus selection.
The company management, on the hand, argued that it had given only the 'letter of intent' to hire and not appointment letters.
Meanwhile in Chennai, a group of 6,500 candidates who sat for L&T placements in the city between September and November 2014, yesterday observed a day long fast against L&T’s unethical move.
"We were given instructions by the placement cells not to sit for any other interviews. And not even subtle verbal ones - they were mails and warnings sent out in bold, huge letters," said one of the protesting student.
According to the placement rules, a student, if selected in campus recruitment, cannot approach any other company after accepting an offer letter. And this clause blocked many candidates from approaching other companies.
The withdrawal of letters comes in the backdrop of Flipkart’s decision to defer the joining dates of new B-school recruits. The e-commerce giant had made offers to 45 students at 4 IIMs -- Ahmedabad (18), Bangalore (11), Calcutta (9) and Indore (7). But recently, the company deferred the joining dates by six months. The Bengaluru-based company said that these delays were made as Flipkart is currently undergoing a few structural changes. On its part, the company also said that it is in mood of shortening the deferment period.
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