Zomato has opted to dismiss 600 customer support staff, only a year after their recruitment, according to Moneycontrol.
The mentioned action is part of the firm’s reaction to a slowdown in its primary food delivery sector and its growing dependence on automation to reduce expenses. Zomato, recognized for its food and grocery delivery offerings, has also encountered difficulties with Blinkit, its rapid commerce division, which has been incurring larger losses.
The firm recruited close to 1,500 customer support personnel through Zomato’s Zomato Associate Accelerator Program (ZAAP), aiming to advance them into various positions in sales, operations, supply chains, and other areas within a year.
Employees impacted by the terminations were being provided with one month’s salary as compensation, despite being dismissed without prior warning.
Under the guise of anonymity, a customer support representative revealed that most employees brought on through the ZAAP program were let go without a clear explanation, according to the report.
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Additionally, staff members feel that Zomato’s growing reliance on AI for automating its customer support has rendered their positions unnecessary.
It is worth noting that Zomato has recently introduced Nugget, an AI-driven customer support platform that now manages millions of support interactions every month for Zomato, Blinkit, and Hyperpure.
Although the company is adopting automation to enhance efficiency, it has encountered certain challenges, such as a slowdown in growth within its food delivery sector and higher losses in its Blinkit division.
The organization has encountered several difficulties lately, such as exits in leadership. Over the last year, high-ranking officials such as Akriti Chopra (Co-founder and Chief People Officer) and others have departed from the company, contributing to the unease at Zomato.
