Zomato CEO addresses gig worker strike calls, defends 10-minute delivery model

Zomato and Blinkit CEO Deepinder Goyal on Thursday defended his platforms' treatment of delivery workers, saying recent strike calls did not affect operations as the companies recorded their highest-ever order volumes on New Year's Eve.

In a statement posted on social media, Goyal said the platforms delivered more than 7.5 million orders to over 6.3 million customers on December 31, with over 450,000 delivery partners working across both platforms. He said this was achieved "without any additional incentives" beyond the higher payouts typically offered on New Year's Eve.

"Most importantly, thank you to our delivery partners who showed up despite intimidation, stood their ground, and chose honest work and progress," Goyal wrote.

The statement comes after calls for strikes by some gig workers over wages and working conditions circulated on social media in recent days. Goyal credited local law enforcement with helping to "keep the small number of miscreants in check."

Goyal directly addressed concerns that the quick commerce platform’s 10-minute delivery promise puts delivery workers at risk by forcing them to speed through traffic.

He said the quick delivery time is made possible by store density, not by asking workers to drive fast. According to Goyal, delivery partners don't have timers on their apps showing the promised delivery time to customers.

"After you place your order on Blinkit, it is picked and packed within 2.5 minutes. And then the rider drives an average of under 2 kilometers in about 8 minutes. That's an average of 15 kilometers per hour," he wrote.

Goyal said he understands why people assume 10-minute deliveries risk lives, calling it "hard to imagine the sheer complexity of the system design which enables quick deliveries."

Responding to criticism that gig workers are exploited, Goyal argued that the system's ability to attract and retain workers speaks to its fairness.

"If a system were fundamentally unfair, it would not consistently attract and retain so many people who choose to work within it," he stated. "Please don't get swept up by narratives pushed by vested interests."

He encouraged customers to ask delivery partners directly about their experience with platform work, saying they would be "humbled by how rational and honest they will be."

Goyal framed the gig economy as "one of India's largest organised job creation engines," arguing its real impact will become evident when delivery partners' children, “supported by stable incomes and education, enter the workforce."

While defending the platforms, Goyal acknowledged that "no system is perfect" and said the companies are committed to improvement.

"However, it is far from what it is being portrayed on social media by people who don't understand how our system works and why," he added. "If I were outside the system, I would also believe that gig workers are being exploited, but that's not true."

The statement did not address specific demands from workers or provide details on wages, insurance coverage, or other working conditions that have been points of contention in discussions about gig economy labour practices.

Worker rights advocates and some gig workers have previously raised concerns about pay structures, lack of benefits, and working conditions on food delivery and quick commerce platforms, though the extent and representativeness of recent strike calls remain unclear.