E-commerce and gig-economy stocks weakened after the rollout of India’s new labour codes
Markets expect these businesses to face higher operating costs once the social-security fund contributions kick in
Several major platforms recorded drops of more than 1.5% in Monday’s trade
Shares of major e-commerce companies including Eternal (formerly Zomato), Swiggy, Delhivery, Nykaa, and Urban Company, slipped on Monday after the central government implemented new labour laws last week. Market analysts are expecting that the four labour codes could increase the operating costs for these labour-intensive businesses.
The stock price of Eternal slid over 2% to ₹295.80 on Monday from its previous close of ₹302.05, while rival Swiggy fell nearly 2% to ₹378.05 in early trade. Delhivery dropped about 1.8% to ₹410.40, and Nykaa slipped 1.7% to ₹263.95.
31 October 2025
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Newly listed Urban Company opened weaker as well, losing more than 1.6% to ₹140.55. The stock is now down almost 33% from its post-listing peak of ₹201.
The four codes, the Code on Wages (2019), the Industrial Relations Code (2020), the Code on Social Security (2020) and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (2020), replace and rationalise 29 older labour laws and extend social-security coverage to previously unprotected categories, including gig and platform workers.
The government has not yet notified the exact details on the implementation framework for the CoSS. The platforms offering online services will need to contribute between 1-2% of their annual turnover to a dedicated fund to enable the coverage, which will be capped at 5% of the amount payable to their own gig workers.
(More details are being added.)
