Glovo joins the wave of cuts from technology companies. The home delivery platform will lay off 250 people, 6.5% of the workforce.
According to a statement published this morning, the decision will have a strong impact on the central office in Barcelona, where 140 workers will lose their jobs, around 8% of the 1,700 people who are located at this headquarters, recently opened in the 22@ district. .
The rest of the affected jobs will correspond to other offices that the company has in Spain and in 24 other countries. In this country, the company has specified that it will carry out the dismissals through an Employment Regulation File (ERE).
Especially, jobs in the business support, recruiting and data management divisions will be affected. The cuts will not affect warehouse staff, supermarkets or delivery people (in the latter case, they are self-employed).
“We are trying to correct growth inefficiencies. In October, we began to see how the growth rates were lower than expected. Demand is slowing down in the delivery sector. The macroeconomic situation, marked by the rise in interest rates and inflation, reduces the purchasing power of consumers and our customers place orders less frequently," said Oscar Pierre, co-founder and current CEO, adding that the company tried to avoid layoffs by cutting operational costs in the first place.
The decision comes a year after Glovo announced the sale to its German competitor Delivery Hero. Company sources assured this newspaper yesterday that the dismissals are not justified in any case due to duplication of functions between the central offices in Berlin and those in Barcelona. Only the macroeconomic situation supports the decision. “Uncertainty is very high and that is why it is important to keep costs low and optimize the business”, said Pierre.
In any case, Glovo forecasts revenue growth at a double-digit rate compared to the results of the 2022 financial year, which have not yet been published. According to the 2021 accounts, the company billed 590.9 million euros, 65% more than in 2020, and lost 474.8 million, five times more. As advanced in an interview with this newspaper Niklas Östberg, the group's CEO, Glovo will register losses of 300 million euros in 2022.
In addition, the company faces Social Security fines worth 205 million euros. The Labor Inspectorate calls on the company to regularize the situation of 37,348 delivery drivers who were hired as false self-employed workers and not as employees
