On the very day he was set to start his career, Prasad Chaure opened an email that gutted months of preparation and promise. His job offer was revoked — with a single, cold line: “due to a change in requirements for future business.”

Chaure, a final-year mechanical engineering student at IIT Bombay, had every reason to believe his future was secured. In December 2024, he was placed in a Business Analyst role during the campus placement drive — the only offer he was allowed to accept under institute policy. The company sent an official offer letter, collected onboarding documents, and asked him to sign a declaration barring dual employment.

Everything pointed to a June 2 start. But just days before, he was told the joining would be postponed. Then, on June 2 itself, the blow landed. In a terse message, the company wrote:

“We regret to inform you that due to a change in requirements for future business, we will not be able to proceed with your onboarding.”

No phone call. No alternatives. Just a vanished job and no second chance.

“I had turned down other interviews and paused outreach,” Chaure posted on LinkedIn. “After months of trust, planning, and anticipation, this sudden change was deeply disheartening.”

His story isn’t unique — it’s part of a storm tearing through India’s top campuses. Between 2021 and 2024, placement rates plummeted across 22 of 23 IITs. IIT Delhi saw the number of placed students fall from 87.69% to 61%. Similar declines hit IIT Madras and others.

The crash stems from global tech slowdowns, frozen hiring in analytics and consulting, and a painful skills-market mismatch. Across sectors, companies are scaling back, delaying, or rescinding offers — even those months in the making.

Chaure was never told exactly what “change in requirements” meant. What it really meant: one email erased his only job, and with it, his safety net.