MUMBAI: Twenty-two companies that offered jobs to about 150 students during the 2025-26 placement season and later withdrew those offers will not be invited to participate in the next two internship and placement seasons at the IITs.The decision follows “non-cooperation” with placement teams. Among those affected were some of India’s brightest students with strong academic records, selected by companies that visited campuses in the very first week of recruitment.The decision followed an attempt to salvage the commitments. After placement teams from across the IITs met in early Sept, they approached the companies and urged them to honour their offers. Some agreed to take students at a later date in October or November and are in the process of sending written commitments. Others said they could no longer take the students on board.TOI was the first to report on June 22 that the All IITs Placement Committee (AIPC) was cracking down on recruiters revoking job offers. AIPC convenor Prof John Jose said the companies were concentrated in software, data science and edtech, with IT and software firms accounting for the largest share.“Some of these are legacy recruiters and what we call as popular companies among our students, some come to recruit as early as in the first week of placements. Their recruits included very strong candidates with good academic records,” said Prof Jose.The explanations reflected businesses under strain: financial difficulties, altered business models and projects that had disappeared, taking the anticipated need for new employees with them.“Some of them said they were in a bad shape, some said their business model had to change, and some others said many of their projects had been cancelled because of which they no longer needed more people on their rolls,” said prof Jose. Other companies contacted by the IITs did not answer calls from placement heads.For the students, the immediate task was to find another opening. Individual IIT placement committees approached other recruiters, who hired some of the affected candidates. “About 20-25% students were placed in this manner,” prof Jose said. Students also turned to their own networks, seeking referrals and exploring opportunities outside campus recruitment. “Once the students learnt about the situation, some began exploring opportunities through personal referrals, informal networks and lateral hiring. Some are actively speaking to other companies and finding jobs,” he added.For those still without work, a further question remains: whether they can return to campus for another placement season. AIPC has left that decision to individual institutes. The 2026-27 placement season begins on December 1; whether it offers another opportunity to graduates whose earlier offers fell through will depend on their respective IITs.
