Deepinder Goyal, CEO of Zomato, refuted claims on Saturday that the food delivery platform is losing market share or mandating employees to order exclusively from its service.
“All of this is utter nonsense,” Goyal said in a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). “Neither are we losing market share, nor will we ever force our employees to order on Zomato. Freedom of choice is something we stand for vehemently.”
“It is embarrassing to even clarify this, but doing it since many people reached out to me with concern,” Goyal added. He also expressed gratitude to those who checked in, stating that he “appreciates it.”
His statement was in response to a viral Reddit post, purportedly written by a Zomato employee, which expressed concerns about the company’s internal policies and competitiveness.
The Reddit Post
The anonymous Reddit post alleged that Zomato was losing ground to competitors like Zepto Cafe and Swiggy. It claimed that employees were required to place at least seven orders on Zomato each month, with internal tracking enforced, and that ordering from competitors like Swiggy was prohibited on company premises.
The post further described a "toxic" work environment, highlighting the sudden exit of Rakesh Ranjan, the former CEO of Zomato’s food delivery segment, shortly after a town hall meeting with employees.
Additionally, the post, which garnered over 1,200 votes, claimed that the company fired Ranjan after he urged employees to "stay focused" and "get back on track." However, Zomato denied that he had left the company.
“At Eternal Group, internal reshuffling of the leadership team is considered a standard practice as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to optimise organisational effectiveness,” the company stated in an exchange filing.
“Toxicity is baked in. Office politics, micromanagement, and public degradation of employees for the bare minimum are becoming the norm. The only thing keeping the company profitable now is platform fees, unbelievably. Internally, no one seems to care about long-term sustainability, just numbers,” the Redditor claimed.
The post also highlighted that delivery partners are facing the brunt of the crisis, being “underpaid and overworked.” “…Zomato pays significantly less and sometimes nearly half. As a result, many riders are quitting or switching platforms,” it added.
“Customers are frustrated. Riders are frustrated. Restaurant partners are frustrated. It’s a vicious cycle. Zomato might still look shiny from the outside, but inside, it’s falling apart,” the post concluded.
