Zomato lays off 250 employees, shuts Hyderabad customer support centre
Synopsis
Zomato is closing its Hyderabad customer support centre and laying off around 250 employees as it bets on external partners and a leaner Gurgaon-based team. The move — paired with a same-day zero-tolerance policy on analogue dairy — signals a company rapidly reshaping both its operations and its platform accountability standards.
Key Takeaways
Zomato has reportedly laid off around 250 employees as of 31 August in a customer support restructuring.
The Hyderabad Customer Delight centre is being shut down, affecting approximately 240 employees at that location.
Remaining in-house operations will be consolidated into a single team in Gurgaon .
Affected employees will receive four months of severance pay , medical insurance until 31 March 2027 , and outplacement support.
Zomato attributed the cuts to a shift in its customer support model — not employee performance — with more work now handled by external partners.
On the same day, Zomato announced a zero-tolerance policy on analogue dairy dishes, with immediate delisting of flagged items following FSSAI action.
Zomato has reportedly laid off around 250 employees as part of a restructuring of its customer support operations, the company confirmed on 31 August. The cuts follow an internal review of the food delivery platform's Customer Delight operating model and come amid a broader shift toward outsourcing support functions to external partners.
What Changed in the Operating Model
The company has decided to discontinue its Customer Delight operations in Hyderabad, a move that affects approximately 240 employees at that location. The remaining in-house operations will be consolidated into a single integrated team based in Gurgaon, where they will work in closer coordination with Zomato's product, technology, analytics, and business units.
Zomato was explicit that the decision was not performance-related. 'We have decided to reorganise our operations and rationalise the size of the team,' the company said in a statement. Over the past six months, a larger share of customer support workload has been transferred to specialised external partners, making the Hyderabad centre redundant under the new model.
Severance and Support for Affected Employees
Affected employees will receive their August salary along with four months of severance pay, comprising contractual notice pay and a one-time ex gratia payment. Medical insurance and counselling support will be extended until 31 March 2027. Employees will also be permitted to retain company-issued laptops and earphones for personal use, and Zomato has committed to providing dedicated outplacement assistance to help them secure new roles.
Broader Context: A Leaner, Tech-Driven Support Stack
This is not the first time Zomato has restructured headcount in response to operational shifts. The company has been progressively automating and outsourcing customer-facing functions, a trend visible across India's gig-economy platforms as they scale. Consolidating support in Gurgaon — close to the company's core technology and product teams — signals a move toward embedding customer operations into the product development cycle rather than running them as a standalone function.
Notably, the restructuring comes on the same day Zomato announced a zero-tolerance policy on the sale of analogue dairy dishes by restaurants listed on its platform. The company said it will immediately delist any dish that partner restaurants declare as containing analogue dairy, following action by food regulator FSSAI against several restaurants.
What Happens Next
The Gurgaon-based consolidated team is expected to handle all remaining in-house customer support functions going forward. Industry observers will watch whether the outsourcing model delivers the efficiency gains Zomato is projecting, or whether service quality metrics come under pressure — a risk that has historically accompanied large-scale support outsourcing in consumer tech companies.
Point of View
At lower marginal cost. The generous severance package suggests the company anticipated reputational risk and moved to contain it. What is less clear is whether outsourcing customer support — the frontline of user trust in a food delivery business — will hold up under the volume and complexity of grievances Zomato handles daily. The consolidation in Gurgaon, physically close to product and tech teams, could be the smarter play if it genuinely integrates support feedback into product iteration. But if service quality slips, the savings will be quickly offset by churn.
NationPress
31 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Zomato lay off 250 employees?
Zomato laid off around 250 employees due to a restructuring of its customer support model, not because of employee performance issues. The company has shifted a larger share of customer support work to specialised external partners, making its Hyderabad in-house centre redundant.
Which Zomato office is being shut down?
Zomato is discontinuing its Customer Delight operations in Hyderabad, which employed approximately 240 of the affected staff. The remaining in-house support functions will be moved to a consolidated team in Gurgaon.
What severance package will affected Zomato employees receive?
Affected employees will receive their August salary plus four months of severance pay, which includes contractual notice pay and a one-time ex gratia payment. Medical insurance and counselling support will continue until 31 March 2027, and employees may keep their company-issued laptops and earphones.
How has Zomato's customer support model changed?
Over the past six months, Zomato has transferred a growing portion of its customer support workload to specialised external partners. The remaining in-house team will be integrated with the company's product, technology, analytics, and business functions in Gurgaon.
What else did Zomato announce on 31 August?
On the same day as the layoff announcement, Zomato said it has adopted a zero-tolerance policy on the sale of analogue dairy dishes by restaurants on its platform, with immediate delisting of any dish declared as containing analogue dairy, following FSSAI action against several restaurants.
