Grofers withdraws job offer to 10 PEC students 2 days before joining

There couldn’t have been a worst start to a professional career. A grocery delivery start-up—Grofers—withdrew the job offer to 10 graduates of Punjab Engineering College (PEC) University of Technology two days before the joining date, citing adverse market conditions as the reason.

The PEC has blacklisted the company, but the affected students are left high and dry.

Grofers had visited PEC campus in August 2015 to hire students as managers and engineers.

As per the varsity’s policy, the said 10 students were not allowed to sit for interviews by other companies as they had already been offered an annual package of Rs 11 lakh by Grofers.

The students received an email from Grofers on June 28, conveying to them that the positions were no longer available “owing to changes in market conditions”.

The company had mailed offer letters to the students on May 11, 2016. “Looking forward to your arrival on July 1, 2016 at 9am at the joining location –Gurgaon. There will be a training period of 1-3 months,” the mail read.

The offer letter, however, mentioned Rs 7 lakh as the annual package and not `11 lakh as promised at the time of the interview.

The graduates are angry and disheartened over the not-so-pleasant start to their career. One of the selected computer science graduates selected by Grofers, seeking anonymity, said, “We received our offer letters only a month ago and didn’t get an indication of what was in store. I was planning to move to Gurgaon.”

He said the placement officers of the varsity were not cooperating in getting them placed somewhere else. “We are still hopeful, though the placement time is over and no company will offer jobs at this juncture,” he said.

Another student, whose job offer too stands withdrawn, said, “It is disappointing. I had already finalised an accommodation in Gurgaon.” He said he was selected by the Indian Army and even the Navy, but couldn’t join for personal reasons. “Now the offers coming our way are only about Rs 3-4 lakh per annum, which is depressing.”

The placement officer at PEC, Umesh Sharma, said, “The university’s priority is to assure that the affected students get a job and then initiate appropriate action against the company.”

“We have already written a strong-worded letter to Grofers. We are in touch with other companies and the response is positive. Grofers had come to PEC for the first time,” said Sharma.

Company cancels 57 appointments

According to the affected students, Grofers has withdrawn 57 job offers across the country. The students were from NITs at Allahabad and Surathkal; Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, and its Goa campus; and the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad.