Deadline extension granted by the Commission for comment submissions.
In a significant move, German food delivery service Lieferando has announced plans to cut approximately 2,000 courier jobs, representing nearly 20% of its driver workforce. This decision is part of a strategic shift towards a more optimized delivery model that will see an increased reliance on subcontractors for last-mile delivery operations.
The competitive landscape in the food delivery market is rapidly evolving, and Lieferando aims to better meet customer expectations for reliable and swift deliveries. The company's current operational structure, which relies heavily on employed drivers, is deemed insufficient to consistently achieve these service goals.
To address this, Lieferando plans to collaborate more with specialized logistics firms, which provide their own drivers to handle deliveries, especially in smaller markets. This concept has already been tested in Berlin, and in the future, most drivers will still be employed by the company, but around 5% of the delivery volume will be outsourced to these third-party providers.
The implications of this restructuring are far-reaching. Direct employees (drivers) face significant job losses, with layoffs expected to be particularly heavy in large cities such as Hamburg due to the scale and density of operations there. Subcontractors, on the other hand, will assume a greater role in delivery logistics, partnering with Lieferando to use their own drivers.
Lieferando's works council and employee representatives are in discussions to arrange a social plan to manage the impacts of these layoffs. Negotiations are expected to conclude by early 2026. A strict selection process is running to ensure that riders employed by subcontractors are paid appropriately.
Lieferando is part of the Dutch food delivery service Just Eat Take Away. The company's CEO for Germany, Lennard Neubauer, stated that the competitive landscape and the market are changing rapidly and profoundly. He emphasized that customers expect reliable service and short delivery times from Lieferando.
In some areas, Lieferando's current structures may not be able to guarantee reliable service and short delivery times. Neubauer also highlighted that the criteria for selecting fleet partners are crucial.
It's worth noting that Berliners ordered 1051 times from Lieferando in a year, but no specific fact can be extracted from the headline "Lieferando: Berliners ordered 1051 times in a year - over 700 cheeseburgers". Dates and food orders are not self-contained facts.
Until now, the drivers were almost exclusively employed by the company through another subsidiary, Takeaway Express. However, with this restructuring, Lieferando aims to strike a balance between cost efficiency and improving delivery performance through subcontracted logistics partnerships.
This restructuring indicates a major shift in Lieferando's operational strategy, and while it means job insecurity for drivers employed by Lieferando, subcontractors may see opportunities for expanded business collaboration.
The restructuring of Lieferando's operational strategy, focusing on subcontracting logistics, signals a new direction in the company's business model, merging industry practices in finance and retail with the competitive landscape of the food delivery market. Despite the potential job losses and uncertainties for employed drivers, this shift may open up new collaborative opportunities for subcontractors in both the finance and logistics sectors.
In the near future, Lieferando aims to partner more with specialized logistics firms, incorporating their services to enhance its delivery efficiency, aligning with customer expectations for prompt and reliable service. This transition illustrates the evolving nature of finance, industry, and retail businesses, including food delivery services, as they adapt to changing market dynamics.
