Deferred by Flipkart, These IIM-Graduates Could Find Solace With Paytm, Amazon and Other Startups

Students, whose placements have been deferred by Indian unicorn Flipkart, could be recruited by other e-commerce giants. According to a report by a leading Paytm and U.S. retail giant Amazon are keen on hiring the graduates who were earlier offered jobs by Flipkart, but were later asked to wait.

Amazon’s HR head told the English daily that the company is open to hiring those students as it also continues to have its own hiring process on schedule.

Flipkart, which has been one of the favourite recruiters at ivy-league colleges in India, had announced a compensation of 1.5 lakh for every deferred placement. The institute felt it was too little for a six-month delay in on boarding.

Startups have been approaching the institute on the lookout to hire those who have already been screened and filtered by Flipkart. It would be a matter of concern if Flipkart’s rivals and smaller peers will be able to match the pay and job-profiles offered by the unicorn.

Professor Asha Kaul of IIM Ahmedabad said that there are ongoing talks with startups regarding their placements, but declined to give out names as nothing has been officially materialized as of now.

“There were 18 students and the jobs offered by Flipkart were good positions that matched the expectations of the students,” Kaul said.

Markdowns, job cuts and more

The deferring of placements by the Indian unicorn came along with a second mark down in its valuation by Morgan Stanley last week, leaving the industry with speculations about the company losing its sheen to rival Amazon.  According to Fazal Ahad, Director at Merisis Advisors, the markdowns, which is regularly practiced by mutual fund investors, could hint at increasing competition from U.S. retail giant Amazon and subdued funding scenario.

The e-commerce space has been bitten by a string of markdowns and funding down rounds.  Rival is also looking to slash a couple of hundred jobs by putting their employees of the company’s “performance improvement plan,” thereby forcing them to quit.