‘Misinformation & Hyperbole’: Zomato Clarifies in Letter to Staff

“This alleged protest has nothing to do with food or religion or beliefs,” Goyal wrote in the letter.

(Photo: Twitter/@ganeshspwr)

Some Zomato delivery executives in West Bengal protested against delivering pork and beef items.

Following the protest by some delivery executives in West Bengal, against carrying beef and pork items, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal has written a letter to his employees, describing the coverage of the issue as “riddled with misinformation and hyperbole”.

Here are a few issues addressed by the Zomato boss in his letter:

On Issue of Delivering Pork and Beef

In his letter, Goyal wrote that delivery executives voluntarily sign up to deliver “all kinds of food”, and goes on to explain how they do not come in contact with the food.

“This alleged protest has nothing to do with food or religion or beliefs,” Goyal wrote.

He further claimed that not a single delivery including beef and pork items have been delivered in the locality in question in last three months.

A report by The Quint reveals how the protest is linked to local BJP leadership and that it has its roots in Zomato’s 31 July tweet, ‘Food is a religion’, which was in response to a user cancelling his order for being assigned a ‘Non-Hindu’ delivery executive.

On Issue of Payment

Goyal, in his letter, wrote that the entire episode got triggered by a “rate card correction”.

Detailing the company’s payout system, Goyal wrote that when it starts its services in a city, delivery executives are hired at a fixed salary, but as their "order density increases", they "correct the rate cards", which makes a part of the payment "variable".

Goyal claims that the delivery partners of the company approached a "local politician" with the issue, leading to it being "framed incorrectly".

Speaking to The Quint, a Zomato delivery personnel claimed that the payout per order has gone down from Rs 70 to Rs 25. However, Goyal has claimed in the letter that the delivery partners end up earning more on an average.

On the Outrage

Commenting on the protest in general, Goyal termed it as "false outrage".

“We firmly believe it is a slippery slope to conflate meaningful work and livelihood opportunities with false outrage about religion and personal food choices. Everyone has the right to work where they are most comfortable and perhaps the food services business is not for those who don’t want to be even near certain foods.”

Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO, Zomato

Goyal also expressed satisfaction at the fact that "news organisations and individual journalists" have spoken up on the issue.