Mass Layoffs in Just Eat Takeaway Strike Wave

Someone in a chat group is desperately searching for employees. ‘I need 20 to 30 drivers,’ says one message. The report is written in English: most of the workers for these jobs, which pay close to the minimum wage, speak little German. They are supposed to be ready to work by the weekend to prevent further cancellations of numerous orders, as has been the case recently. The sender is an account called ‘Kurierunternehmen’ (courier company), which claims to be recruiting drivers for the start-up Fleetlery.

According to Northdata, the Hamburg-registered limited liability company was founded in the early 2020s and renamed Fleetlery by Giglery in 2024. The subcontractor places pickers and couriers with delivery services and supermarkets – drivers who pick up orders and deliver them to customers. Not much else is publicly known about the company. Even the Hamburg Parliament does not yet have any further details.

The NGG trade union criticises that such subcontractors are being used to rehire former permanent employees of delivery services such as Lieferando under precarious conditions. According to the general works council of Lieferando Takeaway Express, there have been increasing reports of ‘blatant violations of the law’ by such service providers. ‘Whether they comply with the law is difficult to monitor in practice,’ it criticises. The minimum wage is also frequently circumvented through non-transparent billing and cash payments.

Mass layoffs in wave of strikes

The background to the warning is that, according to the union, Just Eat Takeway is about to cut 2,000 jobs in Germany – most of them in Hamburg, according to a statement issued on Thursday. ‘Those affected were informed by email,’ the statement said. It appears that cities with works councils are particularly impacted. The companies’ announcement came during a nationwide wave of strikes at the delivery service, which also reached Frankfurt am Main on Friday and is set to continue in the coming weeks.

Internal documents available to us also show plans to close locations in 34 cities and downsize in eleven others. One-fifth of drivers are to be affected by redundancies, according to the July strategy paper. Recently, Lieferando has already not renewed many temporary contracts in Berlin or dismissed drivers. The NGG speaks of around 500 job cuts. Lieferando disputes this figure.

Orders to subcontractors

A company spokesperson said on request that the changeover would not begin until the end of the year. Affected employees would be supported with a social plan ‘in cooperation with the general works council’, he stated. The Takeaway service would be optimised through ‘additional fleet partners.’ This was necessary considering the market and competitive environment. And: There is a ‘strict selection process’ for subcontractors to ensure that drivers are correctly employed and paid.

Among these partners is Fleetlery, where former Lieferando employees are now expected to work under worse conditions, as confirmed by two independent sources. Lieferando denies that contact details were passed on for this purpose. And the cash payments criticised by the NGG? They also exist as reports from employees show, which are supported by chat logs available to us. The company did not respond to enquiries.

Against this backdrop, the works council is calling on Just Eat Takeaway to create ‘serious, permanent employment relationships in the delivery service industry’. The NGG is not only demanding a collective agreement, but also that Federal Labour Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) declare it generally binding. In addition, a direct employment requirement, as in the meat industry, could prevent a ‘swamp of subcontractors’ from developing, the works council is calling on Berlin politicians to take action.

This article was first published in the daily newspaper nd.Der Tag (Opens in a new window), the research was conducted in cooperation with Christian Lelek.