Mumbai | August 31, 2026 – Zomato, the food delivery business operated by Eternal, has reportedly shut down its customer support operations in Hyderabad, resulting in around 240 employees being impacted, according to sources cited by Inc42.
The move is part of a broader review of Zomato’s customer-support operating model and organisational structure. Over the past six months, the company has increasingly shifted customer-support activities to specialised external partners.
Following the Hyderabad closure, Zomato’s remaining in-house customer support operations are expected to be consolidated in Gurugram.
Zomato Consolidates Customer Support Operations
The restructuring is aimed at bringing Zomato’s remaining customer-support team closer to its product, technology, analytics and business functions.
The Economic Times was the first to report the development, putting the number of affected employees at approximately 250. Inc42 reported the figure at around 240.
Zomato had not publicly commented on the development at the time of the source report.
The latest restructuring appears to be focused specifically on the Hyderabad customer-support team, with sources indicating that similar changes are not currently planned for other teams.
Affected Employees To Receive Four Months’ Pay
Employees impacted by the closure are reportedly set to receive their August salary along with payments equivalent to four months’ compensation.
The package includes contractual notice pay and a one-time ex-gratia payment, according to sources.
Zomato is also expected to extend medical insurance and counselling support until March 31, 2027 for affected employees.
In addition, employees will reportedly be allowed to retain company-issued laptops and earphones for personal use. The company is also expected to provide outplacement assistance to help affected workers identify new employment opportunities.
AI And Automation Continue To Reshape Customer Support
The latest workforce restructuring comes after Zomato increased its use of artificial intelligence and automation across customer-support operations.
In April 2025, the company reportedly reduced its customer-support workforce by around 600 employees across Gurugram and Hyderabad as part of an effort to increase automation.
The latest consolidation therefore highlights a broader shift underway across India’s technology and consumer internet businesses, where companies are increasingly evaluating whether customer-facing functions can be delivered through a combination of AI systems, specialised vendors and smaller internal teams.
For Zomato, the strategy could help streamline operating costs while allowing internal teams to work more closely with the company’s technology and product organisations.
Zomato Faces Growing Food-Safety Scrutiny
The restructuring comes at a challenging time for the food-delivery ecosystem, which is facing increasing regulatory attention around food quality, storage, labelling and hygiene.
Zomato recently announced a zero-tolerance policy concerning dishes containing analogue dairy products, including analogue paneer. The platform said it had removed dishes identified by restaurant partners as containing analogue dairy products and warned that restaurants failing to comply could face delisting.
Food-safety regulators have also stepped up inspections of dark stores and food-related facilities operated by quick-commerce companies.
Earlier this month, Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration suspended licences associated with several dark stores linked to Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart following inspections across the state. The regulator also issued improvement notices over alleged food-safety and hygiene issues.
Separately, Karnataka’s Food Safety and Drug Administration inspected a Zomato Hyperpure facility in Bengaluru and issued a notice concerning alleged licensing, labelling and storage-related lapses.
Competition Intensifies Across Food Delivery And Quick Commerce
Zomato’s restructuring also comes as competition across India’s food-delivery and quick-commerce markets continues to intensify.
Zomato and Swiggy remain the dominant food-delivery platforms, but newer models are emerging. Rapido is expanding its Ownly food-delivery offering, while Flipkart has been preparing to enter the food-delivery market with a lower-commission model aimed at attracting restaurants.
The quick-commerce segment is similarly crowded, with Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes and Amazon Now competing for customers, delivery density and market share.
This competitive environment is putting greater pressure on platforms to improve efficiency while maintaining service quality and managing regulatory requirements.
What Zomato’s Restructuring Signals For India’s Startup Economy
Zomato’s Hyderabad customer-support closure is another example of how India’s consumer internet companies are reassessing workforce structures as technology changes the economics of operating at scale.
The increasing use of AI, automation and specialised outsourcing partners is changing the role of traditional customer-support teams. Companies are increasingly looking to combine technology with external service providers while retaining smaller internal teams for functions requiring deeper integration with product, data and business operations.
For employees, however, the transition can mean significant changes in traditional customer-service roles.
For Zomato, the immediate objective appears to be a more streamlined customer-support structure centred around Gurugram and supported by external partners.
The larger question is whether this model can deliver the cost efficiency expected by the company without compromising customer experience as competition across India’s food-delivery and quick-commerce markets continues to rise.
Key Takeaways
- Around 240 employees are reportedly affected by the Hyderabad customer-support closure.
- Zomato is consolidating its remaining in-house support operations in Gurugram.
- A larger share of customer-support work has moved to specialised external partners.
- Affected employees are reportedly receiving August salary plus four months’ pay.
- Medical insurance and counselling support are expected to continue until March 31, 2027.
- Zomato has been increasing its use of AI and automation in customer support.
- The restructuring comes amid growing food-safety scrutiny and intensifying competition in food delivery and quick commerce.
Source: Inc42, with the Economic Times cited as the first publication to report the development.
Ruchi Kumar is the associate editor at Entrepreneur News Network and TVW News India, where she leads editorial strategy, brand storytelling, and startup ecosystem coverage. With a strong focus on innovation, business, and marketing insights, he curates impactful narratives that spotlight India’s evolving entrepreneurial landscape. She has written extensively on fintech, AI and emerging startups.