GoPuff ends its ultra-fast delivery business in Spain after reaching an agreement with its workers
GoPuff will put an end to its brief foray into the Spanish market in the coming days. The American fast delivery company has reached a according to its nearly 190 workers in the country on the conditions of the collective dismissal process that will affect the entire workforce of the platform, which closes its activities in Spain just six months after starting them.
Company and employee representatives signed this Tuesday the agreement reached last week for the cessation of GoPuff’s activity in Spain after the employees gave their approval “by an absolute majority” to it in a meeting held last Monday.
the deal has failed to prevent the closure of the ultra-fast delivery platform in Spain, something for which the workers have fought since the beginning of August when the company began the consultation period for the collective dismissal of 186 people and the closure of the five ‘ghost’ supermarkets it has in Madrid.
However, after almost a month of negotiations, the representatives of the staff emphasize that equal linear compensation has been achieved for everyonecontemplated for complete months, in which seniority is not taken into account.
Specific, most template, which includes 129 riders and assistants, will receive more than four months of full salary. The rest of the employees (supervisors, managers and office staff) will receive severance pay of three and a half months’ salary.
“The independent struggle has not been able to prevent layoffs, but it has ensured that workers – totally precarious – are not left on the street with only 20 days/year worked,” the workers’ representatives remark on their Twitter account.
In this sense, they also recall that the majority of GoPuff employees in Spain (formerly Dija) have been with the company for less than a year “with salaries of 896 euros”.
Six months in Spain
GoPuff’s adventure in Spain has lasted just over six months. the american company began operating in Spain last February after completing the purchase of Dija at the end of 2021.
With this operation, the North American firm sought to enter the European market. However, in this strategy Spain, like France, has never been among his priorities. The company’s focus on its expansion in the Old Continent has always been centered on the United Kingdom.
Banners protesting the ERE announced by GoPuff in a company supermarket.
Assigned
GoPuff’s decision to leave Spain came as a complete surprise to its workers, as it occurred just a month after the company presented a strategic plan for the country. Said plan foresaw positive profitability in 2026 with an investment of 15 million euros for the Spanish unit.
In the collective dismissal negotiations the workers fought for the maintenance of this strategic planbut adapted to the new economic situation, in order to be able to keep Madrid’s supermarkets open and preserve as many jobs as possible.
The employees maintained that, according to the company’s internal metrics, Spain occupies a leadership position within the group in terms of quality of service and they blamed the closure of the company in the country on wrong management and investment decisions who has taken over the management of the company in Spain in these months.
Furthermore, the workers denounced precarious working conditions that have been imposed on them from the beginning, such as six-month trial periods, insufficient security measures, unjustified salary cuts, hectic pace and the obligation to work in extreme temperatures.
A sector in crisis
The imminent departure of GoPuff from Spain is a sign of the crisis that the ‘ghost’ supermarket business is going through in Spainsince other companies such as Gorillas have announced in recent months measures aimed at reducing their presence in the country and reformulating their commitment to the Spanish market.
The high level of competition that in a short time reached the ultrafast delivery business in Spain and the global economic uncertainty generated by high inflation or high energy costs have ended up taking their toll on a business that is still looking for a way to make its activity profitable.
Orders from Gorillas, Getir and GoPuff.
The outlook for the Spanish consumer market is very different from what existed in 2021, the year in which up to four companies launched themselves to conquer this incipient niche: Dija (now GoPuff), Getir, Gorillas and Rocket. This 2022, with the war in Ukraine as a backdrop, the scenario is much more adverse both for delivery companies and for any sector economic.
Sources consulted by EL ESPAÑOL-Invertia remarked a few weeks ago that there is currently no room for four ultra-fast delivery platforms either quick trade in Spain and there is only business volume for one or two companies to carry out this activity profitably.
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