Food delivery platform Zomato terminates nearly 5,000 gig workers every month, primarily due to cases of fraud, according to Deepinder Goyal, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and quick commerce platform Blinkit.
Speaking in a video podcast with YouTuber Raj Shamani, Goyal said that Zomato currently has around 7.5 lakh gig workers on its platform. Of these, about 5,000 workers are terminated monthly after being found involved in fraudulent activities.
“At the same time, nearly 1.5 to 2 lakh gig workers leave the platform voluntarily every month, while a similar number is onboarded,” Goyal said. He added that most workers view gig work as temporary or transitional employment, which explains the high churn rate.
Goyal’s remarks come amid ongoing protests by gig workers’ unions, who have raised concerns about poor working conditions, lack of social security, and inadequate wages across food delivery and quick commerce platforms.
Responding to these concerns, Goyal stated that Zomato provides insurance coverage in case of accidental death and also extends job opportunities to the families of deceased workers. He further claimed that earnings on the platform are competitive.
“If a delivery partner works eight to ten hours a day for six days a week, they can easily earn more than ₹25,000 per month,” Goyal said.
On the company’s approach to fundraising, Goyal clarified that Zomato never made profit or growth predictions to investors, and instead focused discussions on the market size and long-term opportunity in the food delivery and quick commerce sectors.
The statements have sparked renewed debate around the sustainability of gig work and the responsibilities of platform-based companies toward their workforce.
