E-commerce major Flipkart on Thursday announced a Rs 1.5 lakh bonus for the students it had recruited from Indian Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Management campuses around the country, after facing widespread criticism for postponing their joining dates by six months. In a blogpost, the company said this would be an "additional joining bonus" and that delaying their joining by six months had been a “difficult decision”, PTI reported. IIM-Ahmedabad had written to Flipkart saying the students felt cheated and had educational loans to repay.

Flipkart had earlier justified the deferral saying they were restructuring their business. The company said, “It is important for us to land our campus hires into Flipkart at the right time and into meaningful roles which give them opportunity to learn and grow.” It added that the students would get a revised offer letter soon.

The move came amid industry buzz that the firm was facing a funding crunch and falling valuations.