Zomato offers a job with a catch – you have to pay to get it

By Esha Mitra, CNN

New Delhi (CNN) — When the CEO of Indian delivery app Zomato advertised for a chief of staff on social media, it came with two large caveats.

There’d be no salary for the first year, and the successful applicant would have to pay the company 2 million Indian rupees (about $23,670) for the privilege of the role.

The post sparked immediate backlash from Indian social media users and inspired several memes and spoofs.

“Guys basically he is trying to uplift those who are already uplifted,” one user wrote, referring to Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal. Another said, “A job is supposed to help you pay bills and put food on the table. You can’t expect people to work for free.”

In the post, Goyal said the fee would be donated to his NGO Feeding India, referring to the role as a “fast track learning program” that would provide “10x more learnings” than a management course.

However, in an update Thursday evening, Goyal revealed that the requirement to pay a fee was just a stunt. It “was merely a filter, to find people who had the power to appreciate the opportunity,” Goyal said.

The post succeeded in gaining attention, as well as more than 18,000 applicants in just 24 hours, before applications were closed.

Indian economist Soumya Bhowmick told CNN the gimmick may have immediately excluded talented candidates.

“While demonstrating passion for a job is commendable, financial privilege often dictates whether one can ‘afford’ to pursue such passions – similar to participating in an expensive hobby like golf,” he said.

“Organizations may have the right to offer such roles, but it is undeniable that these opportunities are exclusionary, particularly in a Global South context like India (where for most people) the primary motivation for seeking employment is securing a livelihood.”

While unpaid internships are not illegal in India, the country’s labor laws require employees to be paid at least the minimum wage.

However, a recent report by labor research project Fairwork found that of 11 Indian gig economy apps evaluated, most did not have a minimum wage policy – including Zomato.

Goyal said in his updated post the stunt would not be repeated. “I hope that ‘pay the company to get a job’ doesn’t become a norm in this world – that’s not cool,” he wrote.

Goyal said that he believed in “paying more than the market rate, so that money doesn’t come in the way of great work.” CNN has reached out to Goyal for further comment.

An X user responding to this update said, “Why exactly did you need the (2 million rupees) filter? Pretty sure there must be many out there who have the right intent but money would be a deterrent. So essentially you’ve filtered out most of India that isn’t as privileged.”

Goyal is no stranger to online controversy.

Earlier this year, Zomato announced plans to introduce a curation of restaurants that serve only “pure vegetarian food.”

The plan never came into effect amid backlash online about the move being “casteist,” as many Hindus from privileged castes tend to be vegetarian, while many people from marginalized castes are not. Though officially abolished in 1950, the 2,000-year-old caste system that categorizes Hindus in a social hierarchy at birth still exists in many aspects of life.

Zomato also faced backlash over a 2021 ad that was meant to draw attention to the dedication of delivery staff but sparked discussion about the pressure on them to deliver orders on time.

Correction: This story has been updated to increase the fee sought with the job.

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