Business · Companies · 8 hrs ago
Just Eat plans courier layoffs and pay per delivery in Switzerland
Just Eat plans to lay off a large part of its roughly 700 Swiss couriers and change how deliveries are staffed.
The company says couriers in German-speaking Switzerland could receive jobs through a platform and be paid for each delivery, with rates varying by time and demand.
Workers and unions protested outside Just Eat’s Zurich headquarters on Thursday.
The plan follows a wider shift toward gig-economy delivery work, which has also put pressure on local services such as Basel’s Velogourmet.
Swiss courts have previously ruled that Uber drivers or couriers in several cases should be treated as employees, though assessments of Uber’s changed arrangements are still pending.
A separate ruling found that Uber Eats’ delivery of non-food goods makes it a postal service subject to rules on working conditions.
The legal status of platform couriers remains unsettled, and Just Eat’s consultation process is under way; the company says it will follow Swiss law.
Just Eat plans to dismiss a large part of its roughly 700 food couriers in Switzerland and pay couriers per delivery under a planned platform model.
Couriers in German-speaking Switzerland would receive flexible delivery assignments, with pay varying by time of day and demand.
Workers and unions demonstrated outside the company’s Swiss headquarters in Zurich on October 29.
A consultation process is under way, and Just Eat says it will comply with all legal requirements.
Swiss court rulings have challenged the classification of couriers working under similar platform models as self-employed.
- Who
- Just Eat and its food couriers in Switzerland. Workers and unions are also involved.
- What
- Just Eat plans large-scale layoffs and intends to pay couriers per delivery through a platform.
- When
- The protest took place on October 29, 2026. A consultation process is under way.
- Where
- Switzerland, with the planned flexible platform assignments in German-speaking Switzerland.
- Why
- Not stated
Just Eat
Couriers and unions
Aspect
Just Eat
side A's view
Couriers and unions
side B's view
Planned changes
Just Eat
Just Eat plans to dismiss a large part of its courier workforce and use a platform model paying per delivery.
Couriers and unions
Couriers and unions demonstrated against the planned mass layoffs.
Employment model
Just Eat
Just Eat says it complies with all legal requirements.
Couriers and unions
Unia says it wants to stop exploitation and illegal false self-employment in platform work.
Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court ruled in a Geneva case that Uber Eats couriers were employees.
The Federal Supreme Court ruled that drivers in the model then under review were employed, and a Vaud cantonal court found Uber to be the couriers’ employer.
The Federal Administrative Court found that Uber Eats fell under postal law because it delivered household goods, cosmetics and other products.
Couriers and unions demonstrated outside Just Eat’s Swiss headquarters in Zurich against planned mass layoffs.
- Just Eat couriers
- Roughly 700
- Customers served
- 1.5 million
- Planned pay model
- Per delivery, with rates varying by time of day and demand
- Planned platform assignments
- German-speaking Switzerland
- Protest location
- Manesseplatz, Zurich
- Just Eat consultation
- Under way
What people are saying
They can deliver more cheaply because they do not comply with the laws.
We comply with all legal requirements.
Compliance with Swiss laws and regulations is a top priority for Uber Eats.