Why Glovo, Bolt and Delivery Hero are hiring in India, even for managers
Around 80% of the workforce at Glovo, Bolt and Delivery Hero is Indian. Salary savings and the AI boom in India explain the phenomenon.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The 80% Indian share in delivery app workforces
Why does a Spanish company like Glovo, an Estonian one like Bolt and a German one like Delivery Hero end up with workforces where Indian labour is overwhelming, both in management roles and in delivery? The question deserves a closer look.
The data suggests that at Europe's main delivery and food-ordering platforms, professionals of Indian origin make up around 80% of the workforce, from middle management down to the most junior development roles. This is not just an impression: there are figures, however partial, that support this reading.
The logic of cost savings: 6,000 euros a month for a 'coder'
The most immediate explanation is salary cost. Hiring an Indian engineer in Madrid or Berlin costs a fraction of what a local professional would be paid, even though the salary remains high by Indian standards. Available industry information points to salaries of up to 6,000 euros a month for these profiles, a figure that is astronomical in India but still competitive in Europe compared with the local sector average.
AI as an accelerator of the talent drain
Meanwhile, in India, artificial intelligence is hitting office-based tech jobs hard. Layoffs keep coming, and a workers' movement demanding protection from automation has taken hold. That surplus of qualified professionals finds a natural outlet in the European subsidiaries, deepening the parent companies' dependence on Indian talent.
The courier in the ad is not the real courier
There is an added paradox: Glovo's ads show a local courier, blond and six feet tall, when the reality that shows up at the door is quite different. At a time when diversity is demanded in advertising, it vanishes just when it should reflect the actual workforce. An irony that does not escape even the advertisers.
The uncomfortable question remains on the table: is it a purely cost-driven decision, or is there a deliberate strategy of replacing local jobs? As the European parent companies keep growing, the question of the labour and migration model in the tech sector is far from settled.
Why does a Spanish company like Glovo, an Estonian one like Bolt and a German one like Delivery Hero end up with workforces where Indian labour is overwhelming, both in management roles and in delivery? The question deserves a closer look.
The data suggests that at Europe's main delivery and food-ordering platforms, professionals of Indian origin make up around 80% of the workforce, from middle management down to the most junior development roles. This is not just an impression: there are figures, however partial, that support this reading.
The logic of cost savings: 6,000 euros a month for a 'coder'
The most immediate explanation is salary cost. Hiring an Indian engineer in Madrid or Berlin costs a fraction of what a local professional would be paid, even though the salary remains high by Indian standards. Available industry information points to salaries of up to 6,000 euros a month for these profiles, a figure that is astronomical in India but still competitive in Europe compared with the local sector average.
AI as an accelerator of the talent drain
Meanwhile, in India, artificial intelligence is hitting office-based tech jobs hard. Layoffs keep coming, and a workers' movement demanding protection from automation has taken hold. That surplus of qualified professionals finds a natural outlet in the European subsidiaries, deepening the parent companies' dependence on Indian talent.
The courier in the ad is not the real courier
There is an added paradox: Glovo's ads show a local courier, blond and six feet tall, when the reality that shows up at the door is quite different. At a time when diversity is demanded in advertising, it vanishes just when it should reflect the actual workforce. An irony that does not escape even the advertisers.
The uncomfortable question remains on the table: is it a purely cost-driven decision, or is there a deliberate strategy of replacing local jobs? As the European parent companies keep growing, the question of the labour and migration model in the tech sector is far from settled.
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (18 replies).
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