Under fire for postponing the joining dates of new hires from the management institutes, Flipkart has clarified that it was a "difficult decision" and the company "feels the disappointment of students". The company also claimed that it was undergoing a restructuring which was the reason behind deferring the joining dates.
"At the outset, let me share that this was a difficult decision for us to arrive at and we feel the disappointment of students. At the same time, it is important for us to land our campus hires into Flipkart at the right time and into meaningful roles which gives them opportunity to learn and grow. We are undergoing restructuring that will further consolidate our leadership in the e-commerce industry in India," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Consequently, it becomes important to redesign the campus programme to align it with our new business focus. Completing our restructuring process and consequent redesign of our campus program in our best assessment will take the next couple of quarters and hence the revision of joining date to December is the earliest possible. You would agree that this is not the first time that campuses have faced such a situation," the statement added.
Justifying its decision to offer a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh to every new campus hire, the company said, "We all live in a dynamic and evolving business environment that is changing rapidly. Taking a very empathetic view, Flipkart is possibly one of the very few companies to have offered the additional joining bonus of Rs 1.5 lakh. Please do look at this as a goodwill gesture of the company that cares about its future employees."
The e-retailer had selected 18 students from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad during the campus placement but later deferred the joining dates of the candidates claiming the company was trying to trim its expenditure.
Agitated by Flipkart's decision, recruits from IIM-A sent a strongly-worded email to the company. The letter, addressed to Chief Executive Officer Binny Bansal, Chief People Officer Nitin Seth and Executive Chairman Sachin Bansal among others, said that the delay in joining dates should be shortened.
But the company also added that it cannot change the joining dates. "We are not in a position to increase this and we will pay to student upon joining in December. Flipkart is committed and confident to onboard our campus hires in December. Please take this as an assurance. In addition, the revised offer letters with updated joining date will be shared in the coming few weeks. We are already in touch with respective campus SPOCs and will keep them informed as well."
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