Delivery Hero

European Union fined Delivery Hero and subsidiary Glovo €329 million in June 2025 for violating antitrust rules between 2018-2022. First time EU sanctioned agreement limiting workers' freedom to move to competitors. Companies exchanged sensitive business information, agreed not to recruit each other's employees (initially managers, later extended to all staff except self-employed delivery drivers), and divided up national food delivery markets across Europe. By July 2020, firms stopped competing entirely by avoiding overlapping markets, limiting consumer choice and likely raising prices.

The EU Commission fined Delivery Hero €223 million (€329 million total with Glovo) for running a cartel from 2018-2022. This was the first EU case finding a labor market cartel and first sanctioning anti-competitive use of a minority stake. Violations included: no-poach agreements (not hiring each other's employees), exchange of commercially sensitive information, and geographic market allocation.

160 migrant workers delivering for Delivery Hero's Talabat subsidiary in Qatar faced wage theft by subcontractors, with some unpaid for up to 8 months including during the 2022 World Cup. Workers who filed labor complaints were deported. One worker died in January 2023 reportedly following an accident during non-payment period. Workers employed by Infinity Delivery Services and subcontracted to Talabat.

CEO Niklas Östberg told Business Insider December 2020: 'I'm not a fan of collective wages' and advocated for 'individual salary negotiations.' Company actively tried to prevent works councils from forming in Germany. In Münster 2018, Delivery Hero tried to prevent works council election at Foodora, forcing union NGG to take legal action. Members of Bundestag were 'outraged' and attacked Östberg over anti-union stance. Despite resistance, SE Works Council eventually established April 2018 after 'months of tough negotiations.' Company refused to pay collectively agreed wages and gave drivers little co-determination rights.