Zomato CEO Lifts the Lid on Gig Worker Churn and Fraud Challenges

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal has offered rare insight into the scale and complexity of running one of India’s largest food delivery platforms. Speaking on a recent podcast with YouTuber Raj Shamani, Goyal revealed that the company terminates nearly 5,000 gig workers every month, largely due to repeated instances of fraud. The disclosure sheds light on the operational pressures behind the scenes of India’s booming gig economy.

While the number may appear high, Goyal positioned it as a necessary step to protect the platform’s integrity, customers, and restaurant partners in an ecosystem built on trust and speed.

Terminations Driven Largely by Fraud

According to Goyal, the majority of monthly terminations stem from repeat fraudulent behaviour by delivery partners. These cases include order manipulation, false delivery confirmations, and misuse of customer or restaurant accounts.

“Fraud is not accidental most of the time,” Goyal explained, noting that the company tracks patterns over time before taking action. Zomato relies on internal systems to flag suspicious behaviour, and termination typically follows multiple verified violations rather than isolated incidents.

The company’s stance highlights the challenge of managing a massive, decentralised workforce where thousands of delivery partners operate independently across cities every day.

Massive Voluntary Exit Reflects Gig Nature of Work

Beyond terminations, Goyal revealed an even larger churn problem: between 1.5 lakh and 2 lakh gig workers leave Zomato voluntarily every month.

This, he said, reflects the “purely gig” nature of the job. Many delivery partners join the platform to meet short-term financial needs—such as paying rent, funding education, or covering medical expenses—and exit once those needs are met.

“These are not people looking for long-term employment,” Goyal said, explaining that flexibility, quick onboarding, and immediate payouts are precisely what attract such workers in the first place.

The comments underline a broader reality of India’s gig economy, where platforms must constantly recruit and train new workers to offset high turnover.

Karma Score System Powers Fraud Detection

To manage fraud across millions of orders, Zomato has developed an internal tool known as the karma score system. While often discussed in the context of customers, Goyal explained that the system helps the company assess reliability across interactions on the platform.

The karma score is built using a user’s past behaviour, including order history, dispute patterns, and previous complaints. Customers with strong track records are more likely to be believed in dispute cases, while those with repeated issues face stricter scrutiny.

“If a customer’s karma score is good, they are more likely to be right,” Goyal said, adding that the system allows Zomato to personalise support rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.

Bizarre and Increasingly Sophisticated Customer Fraud

Goyal also shared examples of unusual and sometimes shocking customer fraud cases faced by Zomato. These include customers placing their own hair in food and blaming restaurants to claim refunds, or submitting manipulated images showing food as spoiled or damaged.

With the rise of generative AI tools, Goyal noted that some customers now send AI-generated or edited images to support false claims, making fraud detection increasingly complex.

Despite these challenges, Zomato often absorbs the cost. “About 50% to 70% of the time, we take the hit,” Goyal admitted, suggesting that customer experience still takes precedence over aggressively contesting every claim.

Balancing Trust, Scale, and Sustainability

Goyal’s candid comments highlight the delicate balance Zomato must maintain between growth, trust, and operational discipline. With millions of daily transactions, even a small percentage of bad actors—whether delivery partners or customers—can translate into large financial and reputational risks.

As food delivery platforms mature, the focus is shifting from hypergrowth to sustainable operations, tighter fraud controls, and smarter use of data. Zomato’s experience underscores a central truth of the gig economy: flexibility and scale come at the cost of constant churn—and managing that churn is now as critical as delivering food on time.