IITs Ban 22 Companies From Campus Placements for 2 Years

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have decided to take collective action against 22 companies over job offers that were allegedly not honoured after being extended to students graduating in 2026. The companies will face a two-year period of “non-cooperation”, meaning they will not be allowed to participate in campus recruitment across the IIT system for the next two placement seasons.

The decision follows more than 150 unfulfilled job offers across 23 IITs, making the issue one of the biggest disruptions to IIT campus placements in recent years. The development comes just as the institutes prepare for another recruitment cycle, with uncertainty continuing to surround entry-level hiring, particularly in the technology sector.

IITs to notify 22 companies by September 30

The decision was taken by the All IITs Placement Committee (AIPC), the central body responsible for coordinating placement and internship-related guidelines across the IITs.

The committee held a meeting at IIT Guwahati earlier this month, where members decided that the affected companies would not be allowed to recruit through the IIT placement system for two years. Formal communication to the companies is expected to be sent by September 30.

Interestingly, the IITs are deliberately avoiding the term “blacklisting”. Instead, the action is being described as “non-cooperation”. In practical terms, however, the affected companies will lose access to campus recruitment opportunities at the IITs for the next two placement seasons.

The final list of companies and the precise number of offers involved is still being compiled. Individual IITs are continuing to submit details of cases to the central placement committee.

According to information shared by officials associated with the placement process, some companies withdrew between 10 and 15 offers each. Several startups are also reportedly among the companies facing the two-year restriction.

More than 150 students affected across 23 IITs

The scale of the problem is significant. More than 150 job offers made to students across 23 IITs are involved in the current cases.

For graduating students, a campus placement offer is more than simply a potential employment opportunity. It often determines their plans for relocation, further education, financial commitments and the transition from college to professional life.

When an offer is withdrawn after the recruitment process has already been completed, students can be left with little time to find alternatives. This is particularly difficult for candidates who may have stopped pursuing other opportunities after receiving an offer.

The latest action also reflects how the problem has grown compared with the previous year. In 2025, roughly 10 to 11 companies were reported to have failed to honour offers, with individual IITs handling the matter separately. This year, the number has risen to 22, prompting the placement committee to take a coordinated approach across the IIT system.

Oracle reportedly withdrew around 40 offers

Among the companies facing the proposed two-year restriction is Oracle, according to reports citing campus sources.

The US-based enterprise software company is reported to have failed to honour around 40 offers made to IIT students across different campuses. Oracle has also reportedly not approached the IITs for recruitment so far during the current year.

The company has been undergoing a broader workforce restructuring amid increased investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Its restructuring programme has included job cuts and other workforce-related measures globally, including in India.

However, the IIT placement committee has not publicly released the complete list of companies or the final count of unhonoured offers. The details are expected to become clearer once all individual institutes submit their updated cases.

IITs had already given companies time to honour offers

The two-year non-cooperation decision did not come suddenly.

The placement committee had previously been in discussions with companies over offers that had been withdrawn, delayed or otherwise left unresolved. In June, more than 10 companies were reportedly asked to either honour their commitments or compensate affected students with an amount equivalent to three months of salary.

At that stage, around 100 students were reportedly affected.

Companies were initially given a deadline to respond to the concerns raised by the IITs. The placement committee later set September 15 as the deadline for companies to onboard students who had received offers.

With cases still unresolved after that deadline, the committee moved towards collective action. Unlike the previous year, when individual IITs dealt separately with companies, the AIPC is now communicating the decision on behalf of the IIT system as a whole.

The shift is significant because it creates a common response across the 23 IITs rather than leaving each institute to negotiate separately with recruiters.

What happens to students whose offers were withdrawn?

While restricting companies is one part of the IITs' response, the more immediate challenge is helping the students who were left without the jobs they had been promised.

Placement offices have been sharing the resumes of affected students with companies that are already recruiting on campus. These recruiters have been asked to consider the students for available positions.

This cross-referral effort has already helped some candidates. An estimate from the placement committee indicates that around 20% to 30% of affected students have managed to secure jobs through such referrals.

However, there is no complete figure showing how many students remain without jobs.

One reason is that some graduates may have found employment through off-campus applications, personal contacts or other opportunities without informing their respective IIT placement offices. Once students graduate, maintaining a consolidated record of their employment status becomes considerably more difficult.

Why the decision matters for IIT campus placements

The issue goes beyond the 150-plus offers currently under discussion.

Campus placements depend heavily on trust. Students enter recruitment processes believing that a formal offer represents a genuine commitment from the employer. Companies, meanwhile, depend on institutes to provide access to a pool of qualified candidates.

If companies can withdraw offers after students have completed the selection process, the consequences can extend beyond individual candidates. Students may lose months of preparation and alternative opportunities, while institutes may face increasing pressure to protect the credibility of their placement systems.

That appears to be one of the reasons the IITs have opted for a collective response this year.

The increase from around 10-11 companies facing similar issues last year to 22 this year has also brought greater attention to the reliability of campus hiring commitments.

IIT placement season begins amid cautious hiring environment

The action comes at an important point in the academic calendar. IITs are preparing for another placement cycle, with recruiter registrations typically beginning around September and final placement activity at several older IITs starting around December.

At the same time, technology companies have been hiring cautiously, while changes in business priorities and increased investment in artificial intelligence are reshaping workforce requirements.

For students graduating in the coming years, that makes the reliability of campus offers an increasingly important issue. A strong placement record does not necessarily protect candidates from changes in corporate hiring plans after an offer has been made.

The latest IIT decision sends a clear institutional signal that companies participating in campus recruitment are expected to follow through on the commitments they make to students.

A larger question for recruiters and students

The dispute also highlights a difficult reality of campus recruitment: a job offer can look final to a student while remaining vulnerable to changes within a company.

For recruiters, business conditions can change rapidly because of restructuring, budget revisions, project cancellations or shifts in workforce requirements. For students, however, the consequences of an abandoned offer can be immediate and personal.

The IITs' decision attempts to address that imbalance by making companies accountable through their access to future campus recruitment.

For now, the exact list of all 22 companies remains under compilation, and the IITs are expected to formally communicate the two-year non-cooperation decision by September 30. Meanwhile, placement offices continue to work with existing recruiters to help affected graduates find alternative opportunities.

The immediate priority remains clear: students who planned their transition into professional life around these offers need another opportunity to enter the workforce. At the same time, the IITs are seeking to reinforce the expectation that a campus placement offer should carry meaningful weight—not merely serve as a provisional promise that can disappear after the recruitment process is over.