Just Eat Cuts 1,700 Jobs As Delivery Growth Slows

Just Eat Takeaway.com said on Tuesday it would cut about 1,700 delivery jobs and 170 head office roles worldwide amidst a slowdown in takeaway delivery demand.

The Anglo-Dutch firm said the move was designed to improve efficiency and cut costs.

It comes after the firm reported a 9 percent slump in customers last year, following strong growth during the pandemic.

Just Eat employs about 15,000 workers globally and said those affected would be given six weeks’ notice.

‘Economic headwinds’

As part of the “simplification” Just Eat said it would transition away from using an employed rider model in the UK, although it plans to retain the model in parts of continental Europe.

“Our top priority now is to support impacted employees and couriers,” the firm said.

A month ago rival Deliveroo said it would cut about 350 jobs, or 9 percent of workers due to “unforseen economic headwinds”.

Deliveroo recently released full-year results showing a growth in gross transaction value of only 9 percent for 2022, compared with 70 percent in 2021.

‘Independence’

The British firm has in recent weeks reportedly cut off access to its systems from a third-party service used by riders to compare fares offered by competing delivery firms in order to see who is offering the best deal.

Alfie Pearce-Higgins, co-founder of fare-comparison service Rodeo, reportedly said the move by Deliveroo stops riders from “taking control of their data” and was inconsistent with Deliveroo’s stance that riders are independent contractors.

“Independence when it works for their business is great,” Pearce-Higgins told the Financial Times. “When riders exert that independence, taking control of their data or sharing with another service, it seems to be looked at slightly differently.”

Rodeo reportedly told its nearly 10,000 users in an email on Sunday that Deliveroo had blocked access to its platform.

Fare competition

The service allows riders to link their earnings to Rodeo in order to see which platforms are offering the best rates.

It includes figures from competitors including Just Eat and UberEats.

Rodeo, payroll connectivity provider Argyle and other third-party tools have been blocked from Deliveroo’s rider app as part of a security update in recent weeks, according to the FT.

Deliveroo signed a voluntary agreement in May with GMB Union classing its riders as independent contractors.

Third-party tools

Whether riders are independent or not is a critical one for so-called “gig economy” firms such as ride-hailing and delivery services, which spent more than $181 million (£150m) on a 2020 California campaign to ensure they could retain the contractor designation.

Deliveroo said it supports Rodeo’s objectives of supporting riders and providing them with insights, but that Rodeo and its partner Argyle had “accessed Deliveroo’s rider app without authorisation”.

“Riders themselves remain free to access their data via our platform, which is unchanged,” the company said, to which Rodeo’s Pearce-Higgins responded that authorisation is given by riders and not Deliveroo.