Zomato-owned Blinkit increases employee ‘notice period’, other strict measures amid talent war between quick commerce

Quick commerce platform Blinkit has implemented a new policy requiring several senior employees to sign an addendum to their contracts, increasing their notice periods to as many as two months, as per a report by Moneycontrol. The changes come as competition heats up in India’s $5.5 billion rapid delivery market.

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Blinkit, along with competitors such as Zepto and Swiggy, is fighting to attract and retain top talent. "Blinkit’s move is pre-emptive and also a response to what is happening now," a source explained. “A well-funded competitor like Zepto, or a large rival like Flipkart, can make a strong offer and easily poach talent from Blinkit," as quoted by Moneycontrol.

Zomato, which owns Blinkit, introduced this policy in July, according to media reports. Since then, Zepto has raised $340 million, Walmart has expanded its Flipkart Minutes service, and Swiggy has received approval for its initial public offering (IPO), emphasizing the growing competition in the sector. These developments likely pushed Blinkit to strengthen measures to safeguard its workforce, the report added.

"In cases where Blinkit is certain an employee is headed to a direct competitor, they are either placed on garden leave for two months or relieved immediately to prevent sensitive information from being leaked," another source familiar with the situation told Moneycontrol.

Industry-wide talent wars

Blinkit is not the only company grappling with aggressive recruitment tactics in the quick commerce space. Competitors such as Swiggy have been hiring staff from major e-commerce firms like Flipkart and Amazon, as per the report.

“Amazon is a hunting ground for talent for ad campaigns and search, while Flipkart is known for warehouse and backend operations expertise," said Anshul Lodha, managing partner at Page Executive India, a recruitment consulting firm. “Swiggy, meanwhile, is the go-to for product and design talent,” as quoted by Moneycontrol.

Quick commerce companies are going to great lengths to lure top performers, even creating roles to accommodate key hires. "Zepto has offered highly competitive salaries and substantial annual promotion increments," Lodha added. “A high performer at a growth-stage company can double their salary every year,” as quoted by Moneycontrol.