Zomato and its quick-commerce arm Blinkit recorded all-time high delivery volumes on New Year’s Eve, remaining largely unaffected by calls for a nationwide gig workers’ strike, according to company CEO Deepinder Goyal.
In a statement shared on Wednesday, Goyal said the platforms completed over 75 lakh orders during the day, serving more than 63 lakh customers, with the support of 4.5 lakh+ delivery partners across India. He added that operations continued smoothly with assistance from local law enforcement, which helped prevent disruptions by a “small number of miscreants.”
Goyal clarified that the record volumes were achieved without any special or incremental incentives, noting that higher payouts on New Year’s Eve are routine and in line with previous years.
“I am grateful to local authorities and our on-ground teams for swift coordination and clear enforcement. Most importantly, I thank our delivery partners who showed up despite intimidation and chose honest work and progress,” the Zomato CEO said.
Zomato and Blinkit delivered at a record pace yesterday, unaffected by calls for strikes that many of us heard over the past few days.
Support from local law enforcement helped keep the small number of miscreants in check, enabling 4.5 lakh+ delivery partners across both…
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) January 1, 2026
Strike concerns weighed on sentiment earlier
The statement comes after gig and platform worker unions announced a strike on December 31, 2025, alleging systemic exclusion from labour protections and social security benefits. In a letter to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the Gig and Platform Services Workers Union (GIPSWU) flagged concerns around labour rights, harassment, discrimination, and lack of statutory safeguards.
The strike announcement had earlier weighed on investor sentiment, particularly for companies exposed to platform-based delivery and logistics models. Shares of Eternal, which operates in the broader gig-driven ecosystem, saw selling pressure during the session, reflecting concerns around potential operational disruptions and regulatory scrutiny.
CEO defends gig-economy model
Addressing the broader debate, Goyal said narratives portraying the gig-economy as fundamentally unfair overlook the fact that it continues to attract and retain a large workforce. He described the gig economy as one of India’s largest organised job-creation engines, arguing that its long-term impact would compound as stable incomes support education and upward mobility for delivery partners’ families.
“Please don’t get swept up by narratives pushed by vested interests,” Goyal added.
The strong New Year’s Eve performance suggests that, at least operationally, Zomato and Blinkit were able to navigate strike-related concerns without material disruption.
