Zomato Shuts Hyderabad Support Center, 240 Employees Laid Off

Food delivery giant Zomato has closed its customer support center in Hyderabad, impacting approximately 240 employees. This move aligns with the company’s shift towards outsourcing and centralizing in-house operations in Gurugram.

A Strategic Shift to External Vendors

This decision, communicated to staff on Monday, continues Zomato’s strategy over the past six months to transition most customer support functions to specialized external vendors. The goal is to consolidate remaining in-house support into a single integrated team based in Gurugram, fostering closer ties with product, technology, analytics, and business departments.

These layoffs are not performance-related, offering a measure of reassurance to those affected. Zomato has outlined a comprehensive severance package designed to support the transitioning workforce.

Support for Affected Employees

Each affected employee will receive a severance package that includes four months’ pay. This covers their August salary, contractual notice pay, and a one-time ex gratia payment.

Medical insurance and counselling support will be extended until March 31, 2027. Additionally, employees will retain ownership of company-issued laptops and earphones, and outplacement assistance is also being provided.

The Broader Trend: Outsourcing and Automation

Zomato’s shift to outsourcing enables the conversion of fixed salary and real estate expenses into a flexible, per-ticket variable cost. This model can scale efficiently during peak demand and contract when order volumes are lower.

This trend is increasingly common among consumer internet companies. They are relying more on external providers and automation to reduce the need for large in-house contact center teams.

Previous Restructuring and AI Integration

This recent change follows a similar restructuring that occurred in April 2025. At that time, nearly 600 customer support associates were laid off from offices in Gurugram and Hyderabad.

Many of these previous employees had been hired under the Zomato Associate Accelerator Programme (ZAAP), with initial promises of career progression within the company. Weeks prior to those earlier layoffs, Zomato launched Nugget.

Nugget, an in-house AI-powered customer support platform, was developed over three years. It reportedly handles 15 million interactions monthly and resolves up to 80% of customer queries without human intervention.

For those navigating the evolving job market, understanding these shifts is crucial. Companies are increasingly leveraging technology and flexible models, which can redefine traditional roles in customer support.