IT major Wipro Technologies has decided to amend its job offers to engineering students in Orissa, according to an official of the Orissa government?s information and public relation (I&PR) department.
Wipro?s changed stand on the job offers made to the Orissa engineering students had unruffled the students. Wipro, which had offered jobs in the development centre, subsequently asked some of the selected engineering students to join its BPO division. It also communicated to the students that if they don?t join BPO, their earlier job offer would stand cancelled.
However, following the intervention of the state government, the IT major assured that those who will join BPO now will be shifted to software development job after 18 months. It also assured that those who do not join the BPO now, the job offers in the software centre hold good as and when there is an opportunity.
Wipro had selected more than 1000 pre-final students in 2007 from engineering institutes across Orissa. These students, who graduated in July 2008, were issued appointment letters and were expected to join between August and October 2008.
However, in November 2008, the company wrote to a large number of them to join the Wipro BPO division at Kolkata by December 5, 2008, because of a changing business environment owing to the recent financial meltdown. They were also told that their original offer would stand cancelled if they chose not to join the BPO division.
The engineering students were offered up to Rs 3 lakh per annum for job at the development centre. Now, with the BPO offer, they would get less. Moreover, their career would be ruined if they start their career in a BPO, the students apprehended.
A representative group of engineers met state IT secretary PK Mohapatra, chief executive officer of Orissa Computer Application Centre, Vishal Dev, and the head of the state IT promotion cell, AK Panda and raised the issue.
They also made a representation to chief minister Naveen Patnaik to intervene in the matter. Following government intervention, Pradeep Bahirwani, vice-president, talent acquisition, Wipro Technologies, Bangalore, assured that if these students do not join the BPO division, the original offer to join Wipro software services holds good and the offered remuneration package stands. He also conveyed that students joining the BPO will be shifted to software services within 18 months, said the I&PR spokesperson.