Companies in the Information Technology (IT) and IT-enabled services sectors have significantly reduced the number of students they usually recruit from engineering college campuses this year, reports The Hindu. College placement officers and principals say big companies are not rushing to recruit students. Tier 2 and 3 colleges that depend on IT and ITeS companies say this could affect placement in 2024.  “According to our college placement report, the IT sector is expected to reduce its hiring by 20% this year. This is likely to affect campus placements in 2024,” said T. Saravanan, principal of New Prince Shri Bhavani College of Engineering, a tier 2 college.

“Some prominent IT companies have already slowed down their hiring and are delaying job offers to freshers by three to six months. This is putting pressure on campus placements. But we hope the situation will improve for the 2024 batch. Compared to the past three years, the hiring process for this year has been slower.” Saravanan said.

Chennai Institute of Technology principal A. Ramesh agreed that the overall placement trend was lower compared to last year, but tier 1 colleges have not faced any problems. Tier 1 colleges and deemed universities are relying on startups and product-based companies for recruitment.