Zomato CEO Reveals 5,000 Monthly Terminations
Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO of Eternal (the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit), has revealed that Zomato terminates approximately 5,000 gig workers every month.
Speaking on a recent video podcast with YouTuber Raj Shamani in early January 2026, Deepinder clarified that these deactivations are not arbitrary layoffs but are strictly linked to repeated instances of fraud and platform misuse.
This disclosure comes at a time of heightened scrutiny for the gig economy, following a series of New Year’s Eve strikes by delivery unions demanding better pay and job security.
The “Karma Score”: Tracking Fraudulent Patterns
Deepinder detailed the company’s sophisticated internal monitoring tool known as the “Karma Score” system.
This reputation-based engine tracks the historical behavior of both delivery partners and customers to resolve disputes and identify bad actors.
According to Goyal, the 5,000 monthly terminations are primarily triggered by repeated infractions, including:
- False Deliveries: Marking an order as “delivered” while the food remains with the rider.
- Cash-on-Delivery (COD) Misuse: Failing to return the correct change or withholding collected cash.
- Food Consumption: Instances where delivery partners consume the order before it reaches the customer.
“This is where the customer karma score and rider karma score blend in,” Deepinder explained.
He admitted that while the system isn’t 100% perfect, the company chooses to absorb the financial loss in 50% to 70% of cases where fault cannot be definitively proven.
Zomato Attrition Paradox: 200,000 Voluntary Exits
While the 5,000 monthly firings have captured headlines, Deepinder contextualized this number within a much larger cycle of “churn.”
He revealed that 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh gig workers leave the platform voluntarily every month—a figure that is almost immediately replaced by an equivalent number of new onboards.
Deepinder defended this high attrition rate as a natural characteristic of the “gig” model.
“Most people view this as transitional work,” he noted, citing that the average Zomato partner worked only 38 days in the year 2025.
Many workers join the platform to meet an immediate cash need and exit once they reach their financial target.
This behavior reinforces the company’s stance that these roles do not serve as “permanent” jobs.
Regulatory Crossroads and Union Pushback
The timing of Deepinder’s remarks is significant.
On December 30, 2025, just days before the CEO’s podcast appearance, the Ministry of Labour and Employment published draft rules for the four Labour Codes.
These codes aim to provide gig workers with social security and health coverage for the first time.
They also establish a new minimum wage framework to ensure financial stability for the digital workforce.
Under these draft rules, a worker must maintain an association with an aggregator for at least 90 days within a financial year.
Only after meeting this time-based requirement does the individual qualify for social security and health benefits.
Zomato’s high churn rate (65% annual attrition) and the 5,000 monthly deactivations have raised concerns among unions like the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU).
Unions argue that frequent deactivations and the “gig” classification systematically block workers from reaching the required 90-day threshold.
Consequently, many delivery partners remain ineligible for the legal protections and social security benefits promised under the new 2026 codes.
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