The company’s “employee model” is expected to be limited to seven cities.
The wheel turns for Just Eat in France. At the beginning of 2021, the Anglo-Dutch meal delivery platform assured that it was possible to earn money by employing paid delivery drivers. It launched 4,500 hires with permanent contracts. A strong choice: Uber Eats and Deliveroo, the two market leaders, rely solely on independent couriers, synonymous with lower costs.
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Unfortunately, Tuesday, April 12, Just Eat France acknowledged that its model did not live up to its expectations. The company is considering a job protection plan (PSE) to bid farewell to 269 permanent contract deliverers out of the 800 to 900 it employs. “We plan to refocus our employee model on a limited number of cities to seven,” explains Meleyne Rabot, CEO of Just Eat France. Until then, the platform offered its services with CDI deliverers in 27 cities.
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The time to implement the PSE, this reorganization could be effective in the second half. Just Eat would keep regular delivery staff in Paris and its suburbs, in Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Lille and Roubaix, “representing 75% of orders and two-thirds of the workforce,” specifies Meleyne Rabot.
unfair competition
On the other hand, in 20 cities, including Bordeaux and Nantes, the company “plans to switch from an employee model to an alternative delivery mode”, which has yet to be defined. The solutions are not endless: either it appeals to direct car entrepreneurs; or it entrusts the market to a company that employs auto entrepreneurs, such as Stuart. Meleyne Rabot invokes a “volatile and competitive” market to justify her decision, asserting: “I’m not saying we’re going to abandon the employee model. This PSE raises questions about the relevance of an organization with deliverers with permanent contracts. Especially since meal delivery is no longer experiencing the crazy growth that was seen when restaurants closed. “Our customers’ consumption habits could be characterized by more moderation this year,” warned Will Shu, founder of Deliveroo.
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