Mumbai founder cancels Rs 22 lakh job offer over religious comments: 'I would say this is...'

An Indian startup founder has sparked an online debate after he rescinded a lucrative job offer of Rs 22 lakh per annum due to a candidate's alleged derogatory comments targeting religious communities on LinkedIn.

Mohammad Ahmad Bhati, founder of recruitment platform Joby, told the professional networking site that although the candidate had performed well in the interview process and had even made extra efforts to suggest improvements to the company's platform, the offer was withdrawn after a routine background check revealed "extremely derogatory" public comments.

"No matter how talented someone is, respect and basic decency matter more to us. Talent gets you in the door, but values ​​decide whether you stay," Bhati wrote in a widely circulated post.

According to Bhati, the candidate had applied for the job after seeing Joby's viral Reddit post, which boasted of conducting 450 interviews for over 12,000 applicants. The individual stood out not only for his skills but also for his proactive attitude, which included creating his resume using Joby's tools and suggesting changes to the platform.

However, just before onboarding, the startup discovered that the candidate had recently made comments on LinkedIn that could be construed as offensive to religious groups.

"We were willing to pay a higher price than our budget. But during the final background check, we found public posts that included comments that could hurt religious sentiments. This is not a price we are willing to compromise on," Bhati said.

The decision has sparked a lot of discord online. While some praised Bhati for prioritising values ​​over pure technical qualifications, others questioned whether it was fair to revoke a job offer because of social media comments.

Critics called the move an example of "cancel culture at work" and argued that companies should focus on performance, not personal opinions.

Reactions

One user wrote, "Revoking an offer letter for a professional position based on someone's social media activity shows how this cancel culture can really affect an organisation when the wrong people get into leadership positions. And posting it here is not virtue signalling either. It only shows how immature and insecure you are as a leader. Good luck finding good candidates."

Another user commented, "You're trying to show your power, like, 'I created this platform, so I decide who gets hired based on whether they match my beliefs or not.' But I'm sure if a person from another religion did the same thing against your religion, you wouldn't stay silent, you would be the first one to condemn it."

"Only a fresher can understand the importance of this post. There is so much to do and learn, education makes a human being grounded, teaches gratitude and makes one humble. But now I know why cultural rounds are important," wrote a third user.

"I have a question for all those who posted hate comments. I mean, would you be comfortable working with/under a racist/casteist or even sexist person? I know I wouldn't. Qualification should not be the only criterion to evaluate an employee. Companies usually have a zero tolerance policy against this. It is better to reject candidates before hiring them, as it causes severe social and emotional damage to others," wrote a user.

"I would say this is a very good decision," wrote another user.

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Bhati also posted screenshots of both the offer letter and the rejection note, which clearly stated the reason for the withdrawal. The rejection letter read, "We found some recent public posts on LinkedIn, including some of your comments, which would deeply hurt the religious sentiments of certain communities."

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