Dunzo Dark Stores Operations Halted as Off-Roll Employees’ Salaries Delayed
- ByStartupStory | August 16, 2023
Operations at several Dunzo dark stores in Bengaluru have been temporarily halted due to the delay in the July salaries of off-roll employees, according to sources. Approximately 70 off-roll workers from seven Dunzo dark stores in Bengaluru faced delayed salaries, leading to disruptions. Two dark stores in Koramangala and the ITI Layout areas of Bengaluru were affected. Trouble began on Monday evening when several dark store workers in the city halted work and refused to resume until their salaries were paid, according to the people quoted above. Dunzo has shifted a few on-roll employees and delivery partner teams to temporarily take over operations at these dark stores, they added.
The off-roll employees are mainly responsible for packing groceries and handing them to delivery partners under the Dunzo Daily service. They were expecting their July salaries in early August. “Dunzo’s management has been asking us to wait patiently for the payment and return to work in the meantime. But there is no clarity on when the payment will come in,” a dark store worker told sources on condition of anonymity.
“We have built a hybrid network of stores for Dunzo Daily, which is a combination of dark stores and partner stores. This network is dynamic and continues to evolve—where it makes business sense for us to have partner stores, we will switch to that model,” a Dunzo spokesperson said in response to Sources’ queries.
“We live in more than 95% of our genes in Bangalore, except in a couple of areas where we are transitioning to partner stores over the long weekend. We should be operational in these areas as well within the next 24 hours,” the spokesperson added.
Last month, Startup Story reported that the Quick Commerce company said it would defer salaries for the month of August for all employees until September 4, in an attempt to streamline cash flows and build a more sustainable business. While the internal email did not mention whether the delay would affect both on-roll and off-roll employees, Dunzo is said to have verbally assured its senior managers that third-party workers, including those working in dark stores, would not be affected, according to one of the sources quoted above. “The founding team knew that if these workers weren’t paid on time, all the dark stores would come to a screeching halt. While the financial situation of the company isn’t a surprise, nobody expected the dark store workers to suffer,” the source added.
“The founding team knew that if these workers weren’t paid on time, all the dark stores would come to a screeching halt. While the financial situation of the company isn’t a surprise, nobody expected the dark store workers to suffer,” the source added.
Dunzo, like many startups, employs workers both on its payroll and through third-party recruitment service providers. These off-roll workers earn stipends ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 per month. Some workers have reached out to Quess Corp., the third-party recruitment services provider managing Dunzo’s off-roll employees, for payment clarification.
Dunzo has been undergoing business model changes, transitioning from a business-to-consumer to a business-to-business focus. The main contributor to its revenue, Dunzo Daily, faced challenges due to high cash burn and was shut down in several cities except Bengaluru. The company laid off about 300 employees, or approximately 30% of its workforce, in April.
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