Gig workers report drop in orders on Zomato, Swiggy amid LPG shortage

West Asia crisis: Cooking gas crunch puts food delivery orders on slow boil

Food delivery gig workers on platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, and Magicpin are seeing their earnings shrink as the ripple effects of the West Asia conflict reach closer to home. A tightening supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders has forced restaurants and cloud kitchens across India to scale back operations or temporarily shut down. With fewer kitchens firing up orders, delivery partners are bearing the brunt of the slowdown.

 

Kuldeep Sharma, a delivery partner at Swiggy for the past three years, said, “I usually work two shifts — 12-4 pm and 7-11 pm — and was getting around 20-22 orders daily, which yielded nearly ₹1,100. Now, it’s difficult to get past 15–17 orders, and the income has fallen to ₹800–900.” Sharma added that several restaurants from which he frequently picked up orders are now operating only in the evening instead of throughout the day.

 

Another delivery partner working with Zomato and Magicpin echoed a similar view. She said she logs in to the platforms only after 4 pm and targets 13-14 orders a day to earn around ₹600. “It’s becoming too difficult to reach the target of 13-14 orders. Daily earnings barely exceed the ₹500 mark.”

 

Highlighting the concerns of delivery workers, unions such as the Gig Workers Association (GigWA) observed, “As orders slow down due to disruptions in the supply chain, they are expected to drop drastically. Since gig workers are paid on a task basis, their overall earnings could decline considerably.”

 

The All India Gig & Platform Workes Union (GIPSWU), which has also written to the labour ministry, said the closure of restaurants has led to up to a 60 per cent reduction in the fulfilment of online orders. “Commercial cylinder shortages have shuttered restaurants, dhabas, cloud kitchens, catering services, and street vendors, wiping out 50–60 per cent of food delivery orders on platforms like Zomato and Swiggy.”

 

While food delivery platforms, especially Zomato and Swiggy, have not shared an official update, people aware of developments at these companies said they are working closely with restaurant partners and monitoring the evolving situation to minimise disruptions for customers ordering on their platforms.

 

Anshoo Sharma, founder and chief executive officer of food delivery platform Magicpin, said, “Small restaurants are likely to be affected badly, and they form a large part of our base. Small restaurants operating with limited menus and reduced working hours will continue to receive demand support from our end. We will also provide real-time artificial intelligence-enabled support so that they have volume insights and can prepare accordingly and judiciously.” The company has nearly 80,000 restaurant partners and, on average, fulfils 150,000 orders daily.