Zomato uses ‘Karma’ system to resolve delivery disputes: Goyal

BENGALURU: Zomato founder and group CEO Deepinder Goyal said the company terminates around 5,000 delivery partners every month, pushing back against claims of arbitrary firings and unsafe delivery practices. He framed the figure as routine enforcement within a large, high-churn gig workforce rather than punitive mass action. Speaking on a podcast with entrepreneur and creator Raj Shamani, Goyal said Zomato and Blinkit together work with 7–8 lakh monthly active delivery partners and onboard around 1.5–2 lakh new riders every month, reflecting the largely transient nature of gig work. “Most of it is part-time,” he said, adding that many riders join for short stints.

Goyal said the monthly terminations are driven primarily by repeat fraud or misuse, not one-off mistakes. Common cases include orders marked as delivered but not handed over, food being consumed by riders, and cash-on-delivery abuse, such as failing to return correct change on Rs 1,000 notes. To resolve disputes, the platform relies on a reputation or ‘karma’ system that tracks the historical behaviour of both customers and delivery partners. Goyal acknowledged that determining fault is often difficult. “We can never be fully right,” he said, adding that in 50–70% of contested cases, the platform absorbed the loss because responsibility cannot be conclusively established. “When the mismatch is very stark, and patterns repeat, then we take a call,” he said, explaining that termination decisions are triggered by repeated abuse rather than isolated incidents. Goyal also rejected criticism that quick commerce timelines compromise rider safety. “Ten-minute delivery is not enabled by asking people to drive fast,” he said, attributing speed to store density and shorter distances rather than pressure on riders. Blinkit’s average packing time is under 2 minutes, he said, and delivery partners are contacted only when delays are repeated. “Otherwise, there is zero human pressure.”

Addressing allegations that Zomato treats workers as disposable, Goyal pointed to safeguards for delivery partners, including accident and health insurance and family support in fatal incidents. In cases of rider deaths due to road accidents, he said insurance payouts are at least Rs 10 lakh, with additional support such as education sponsorship or jobs for dependents assessed on a case-by-case basis. On social media criticism, Goyal said the company does not respond to every allegation. “People abuse social media and we just let it be,” he said. “But we don’t do random firings.”