Food delivery giant Just Eat slashes over half its Swiss workforce

Popular delivery service Just Eat has announced plans to cut 373 courier jobs, representing over half of its Swiss delivery workforce. The company is restructuring its business model in an attempt to remain competitive.

Just Eat shifts from salaried staff to independent couriers

After launching a large consultation process in October, the company has now confirmed that the process is finished and 373 of around 700 jobs based in Switzerland will be removed, reports SRF.

193 couriers employed directly by Just Eat, as well as 180 people working for external agencies in Bern, Biel, Fribourg, St. Gallen, Winterthur and Zurich, are set to lose their jobs.

The announcement is part of Just Eat’s plans to restructure its business model by downsizing and working more closely with "independent couriers" going forward. Just Eat Switzerland CEO Lukas Streich explained that "without this flexibility, which the market now expects, we will lose our relevance and therefore our competitiveness."

The business plans to rely more on self-employed delivery workers who are paid per delivery and, unlike workers with an employment contract, are not automatically entitled to paid holiday or sick leave, as well as employer contributions to Swiss social security (AHV) and accident insurance.

Unions warn of illegal gig-economy practices

Just Eat workers in Zurich took to the streets over the weekend to strike against the changes, with over 50 percent of shifts impacted on Sunday, November 8. "We are striking because we want to negotiate," commented one spokesperson. Despite Sunday's walkout and a prior protest in late October, the company pushed ahead with its planned cuts.

Trade unions Unia and Syndicom have expressed concern and called for the government to take action, arguing that switching from using employed to self-employed workers would "circumvent labour and social security laws," explains SRF.

Just Eat is “pushing ahead with the transformation to an illegal business model," Unia added in a statement.