Deliveroo cuts 350 jobs

Chief executive Will Shu said that their fixed cost base is now too big for the business.

Deliveroo is starting a redundancy process which could see about 350 or approximately 9% of its workforce leave, affecting mostly employees in the UK.

“I’m sorry that we have to do this. Some of our close friends and talented colleagues will leave Deliveroo as part of this and it pains me that we have to do it. I have been through one of these processes once before. I said then that it was the hardest thing I’d ever done, and this is just as bad. But however much it pains me, I know it’s nothing compared to how those impacted will be feeling. We will do everything to support you,” CEO and founder Will Shu said.

Shu said they ‘grew their headcount very quickly’ to try to respond to the unprecedented growth rates supported by COVID-19-related tailwinds.

“By contrast, we now face serious and unforeseen economic headwinds. We have also recently exited markets, meaning we do not require the same size workforce to support our operations. Quite bluntly, our fixed cost base is too big for our business.”

“This is my responsibility. I should have had a more balanced approach to headcount growth, but I thought stronger top-line growth would continue for longer than it has. I did not anticipate so many macro headwinds arriving all at once. This is on me, and I will not be making the same mistakes going forward,” Shu said.

Last year, Deliveroo halted its operations in Australia and the UK.