Gig worker strike disrupts food delivery, quick commerce services briefly; operations stabilise

Gig worker strike disrupts food delivery, quick commerce services briefly; operations stabilise

• Food delivery faced brief disruptions in Gurugram during the December 25 strike
• Quick commerce saw minor early dips but operations normalised by afternoon
• Worker unions claim 40,000 participated, with delays in major cities

Did our AI summary help?

The nationwide strike by gig and platform delivery workers on December 25 caused brief, localised disruptions, with food delivery impacted more sharply than quick commerce. Operations stabilised later in the day and are now running normally, according to multiple industry stakeholders.

The disruption was most visible during peak meal hours in a handful of micro-markets, particularly in parts of Gurugram, where food delivery saw temporary slowdowns.

“Operations across most food delivery and quick commerce markets remained largely business as usual. In parts of Gurugram, there were short-lived disruptions, but these were resolved during the day and service levels have since normalised,” said a person close to a large food delivery company.

Queries sent to Eternal, Swiggy, Zepto, Flipkart and Amazon did not elicit a response.

How did restaurants experience the disruption?

Restaurants operating in these pockets reported short-lived order and fulfilment disruptions, with activity picking up again later in the evening.

“There was a sharp dip in orders for a few hours, particularly in Gurugram, but things began improving later in the evening as order flow gradually resumed,” said a Gurugram-based restaurant owner.

What was the impact on quick commerce?

Quick commerce, by contrast, continued largely uninterrupted, with only brief, early-day dips reported by some sellers before operations stabilised.

“Order volumes were slightly lower earlier in the day compared to the previous day. Things improved by the afternoon, and operations returned to normal,” said a seller, who operates across multiple quick-commerce platforms.

What do worker unions claim about participation and disruption?

Worker unions, however, offered a different assessment of the strike’s impact. In a statement, the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers claimed that around 40,000 delivery workers participated in the nationwide flash strike and bike rallies.

According to the unions, 50–60 percent of orders were delayed or disrupted across multiple cities and platforms, with the strongest impact reported from Delhi, Karnataka, Hyderabad and Mumbai. The unions also alleged that platforms attempted to manage disruptions by deploying third-party delivery partners, offering higher incentives and temporarily reactivating inactive delivery IDs.

Industry stakeholders disputed the scale cited by unions, maintaining that while there were temporary and localised slowdowns, overall operations stabilised quickly across most markets.

What is the situation now, and what comes next?

By late evening, delivery metrics had largely normalised across impacted locations, and operations on December 26 are running as usual, according to people familiar with platform dashboards.

While the immediate operational impact of the December 25 strike was contained, executives said platforms are closely monitoring participation levels ahead of a second proposed strike on December 31.