Delivery Executives Go on Strike in Mumbai, Bengaluru after Zomato Cuts Payouts

Food delivery executives at Zomato hit streets in Mumbai and Bengaluru protesting the company’s new incentive structure, which offers less money per delivery.

Zomato has also informed restaurants that they should prepare for a rider churn in its fleet this week as it is trying to rationalise costs.

The move by Zomato comes amid intense rivalry from Swiggy and UberEats, who have doubled payouts last year as they looked to expand fleets aggressively.

Zomato’s delivery staff will now get an incentive of Rs 850 for 46 touchpoints, that would be Rs 18.6 per touchpoint. Earlier, the scheme offered Rs 20 per touchpoint. This rate is only for weekdays, and each delivery accounts for two touchpoints.

On average, delivery personnel can earn Rs 25,000-30,000 per month, including petrol costs for the bike. This had more than doubled last year as companies aggressively tried to hit high volumes of orders, which play a critical role in raising new capital. Currently, Zomato is in the middle of raising $400-500 million from new and existing investors, and is said to be losing $40-50 million per month, shared media reports.

While Zomato told restaurants in Mumbai that it is prepared to manage delivery volumes on time, restaurant partners are not sure about the same.