Zomato has let go of around 600 customer support associates hired under its Zomato Associate Accelerator Program (ZAAP), within a year of onboarding. The layoffs come as the company faces slowing growth in its food delivery segment and increasing losses in its quick commerce division Blinkit, sources told Bussiness.
The terminated employees were largely based in Gurugram and Hyderabad, and the layoffs occurred over the past week. Many of the affected employees claim the move came without a clear explanation, adding to the tense atmosphere within the company.
Zomato has reportedly intensified its efforts to automate customer support operations, cutting costs through AI adoption. This includes the rollout of Nugget, an AI-powered support platform that now handles over 15 million interactions per month across Zomato, Blinkit, and Hyperpure.
While Zomato has not issued an official statement, the automation appears to have made several human roles redundant.
Launched in 2024, the ZAAP program aimed to hire and train individuals in customer support with a pathway to transition into roles across sales, operations, supply chain, and more. However, most contracts were not renewed after completion of the one-year term.
“This mass layoff has happened quietly. It affects a majority of those hired under the program,” a current associate said under anonymity.
The layoffs come amid broader headwinds for the company. Zomato has faced difficulty scaling operations beyond the top eight cities, while Blinkit continues to post rising losses due to aggressive expansion and stiff competition in the quick commerce sector.
In Q3 FY25, Zomato reported a 57% YoY drop in profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 59 crore, down from Rs 138 crore in the same quarter last year. The company posted a PAT of Rs 176 crore in Q2 FY25.
Despite the decline in profits, revenue from operations grew 64% YoY to Rs 5,404 crore in Q3, compared to Rs 3,288 crore a year earlier.
Zomato has also witnessed a wave of senior-level resignations. Akriti Chopra, co-founder and Chief People Officer, resigned in September 2024. Prior to that, CTO Gunjan Patidar and co-founder Mohit Gupta also exited in early 2023.
Other notable departures include Rahul Ganjoo (head of new initiatives) and Siddharth Jhawar (head of Intercity Legends), reflecting ongoing instability at the leadership level.
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