Swiggy, Grofers, Milkbasket, Shadowfax on recruitment drive: To employ 50K delivery persons

There is no doubt around the fact that hyperlocal delivery space in India is facing intense competition with players from all backgrounds like Swiggy, Grofers, and MilkBasket in the play.

All these companies have recently raised fundings. Now they, along with Shadowfax, a logistics (sometimes 3PL) company are planning to double increase the size of their respective delivery fleets.

BigBasket that has raised $150 million and became a Unicorn is also looking to increase the fleet by 4,000-5,000 persons. E-commerce platform Amazon is also planning to carry out a similar deed with equal zeal.

This information was given to ET by TeamLease Services. According to their estimates, the job vacancies in the first half of the fiscal, i.e. October 2019, are estimated at 51,500. By the year-end, the opportunities are slated to more than double at 1,21,600 vacancies.

Same is the take of another staffing firm Randstad India.

Employment opportunity is something that is always seen in a positive light, especially with the Indian election coming up and there being scrutiny around the employment figures in India. Even though this has little to do with the election, a few concerns still surround this positive development.

Companies that engage in last mile delivery logistics have been notorious for not compensating this essential part of their business sufficiently. While companies like Zomato had taken several initiatives to deal with this issue, there is still a lot be done here.

With the increase in fleet size for the firm’s development, it is important that it is a wholesome development for the new and existing employees as well.

Further, it is also important to make sure that proper training is given to these delivery persons, so as to ensure safety for both the riders and the general traffic on the road.

Now itself, often the riders can be seen breaking traffic rules to deliver in the least time possible. With more such persons on the road, taking care of this must be prioritised.