IIM students are going to be greatly affected by the shaking U.S economy, specially by the downfall of the two financial giants Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch. This is because the graduates will not have the privilege of being employed in these companies which till date have made the highest recruitments.

The Effects of the Wall Street Disaster
Lehman Brothers (which has been hiring from the year, 1997), has always been regarded as the top employer in all the IIMs in India. This financial giant used to recruit 11 graduates every year. The highest pay recorded being offered to an IIM graduate by the organisation is something around 1.5crores per month.

The scene has undergone a drastic change and IIM is actually speculative about the placement of its graduates. With Merrill Lynch being taken over by the Bank of America, the IIM authorities are planning to ask the bank to recruit its students.

The only good news is that the Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch has not withdrawn their summer placements.

IIM Responses

The IIM Kolkata says that the absence of Lehman Brothers in the recruiter list will make a huge difference even if all the other 15 recruiters are present during the placement sessions.

The economic power shift from the west to the east seems to foreseen by the students of IIM , Ahmedabad. Almost 75% of the students of the institute had declined offers from top organisations of the U.S.A, West Asia and Europe. However, the present economic scenario is not conclusive.

The Effect on Indian Recruiters

According to estimates some 25,000 jobs could be lost in India. The layoffs are going to take place on those sectors which have U.S. clients.

Apparently it seems that as more IIM graduates have to stay in India, small employers working in the Indian sectors would have the opportunity to recruit the best brains for their companies. Moreover, the employers don’t have to pay mind boggling pay packets because they would have less competition coming from the U.S.