Wipro has delayed the onboarding of about 250 engineering graduates, prompting the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) to write to the Union labour and employment ministry seeking intervention.
The employee body has accused the Bengaluru-headquartered IT services firm of failing to honour commitments made through letters of intent and subsequent onboarding communications, Business Standard reported.
According to NITES, the affected graduates received letters of intent in May last year confirming their selection, role and compensation structure. In several cases, the company also issued formal onboarding communication specifying joining dates, work locations and completion of documentation formalities. Despite this, the candidates were not onboarded on the dates communicated.
“Over a period of several months, the affected candidates repeatedly approached the company through official emails, calls and written representations, seeking clarity regarding their onboarding status,” NITES said in its letter to the ministry. It added that candidates either received no response or were sent “vague and automated responses” citing business demand, future batches or tentative timelines that were not honoured. No written explanation, confirmed onboarding date or formal cancellation has been issued so far, the union said.
The episode mirrors a similar case last year involving Tata Consultancy Services, when onboarding of more than 600 experienced professionals was delayed. At the time, NITES had urged the labour ministry to step in and seek time-bound commitments, compensation for the delay period and alternative roles for the affected hires.
Wipro did not respond immediately to a request for comment, Business Standard reported.
The delay comes against the backdrop of a prolonged slowdown in hiring across India’s IT services sector, driven by weak global demand and macroeconomic uncertainty. During the December quarter, the combined headcount of the top five IT firms fell by 4,541, according to company disclosures.
Fresher hiring has been particularly subdued. Wipro hired only about 400 freshers in the quarter ended December and has indicated it will close the financial year with around 8,000 fresher hires, down from an earlier target of 10,000.
NITES has urged the labour ministry to direct Wipro to issue clear written decisions to all affected candidates—either confirming onboarding timelines within a defined period or providing a reasoned closure—so that graduates are not left in what it described as “indefinite suspension” at the start of their careers.