MADRID (AP) — Thousands of delivery drivers in Spain who work for food delivery app Glovo will soon become full employees after the company announced Monday it is switching to an employment-based model.
The decision follows years of pressure from the Spanish government to give app-based drivers employment contracts.
In a statement, Glovo’s Berlin-based parent company Delivery Hero said Glovo is moving from a freelance model to an employment-based model to avoid legal uncertainties, and that it expects a related profit decline of 100 million euros by 2025.
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Spain had fined Glovo in 2022 and 2023 for violating labor laws. At the time, Spain’s Labor Ministry said the company was being punished for failing to hire its drivers and for giving gigs to immigrants who did not have proper documentation and work permits.
Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz welcomed the move on Monday.
“No company, no matter how big it is, no matter how much power it has, can impose itself on democracy,” Díaz told a Spanish TV channel.
In 2021, Díaz successfully advocated for a new ‘Riders Law’ that classified food delivery drivers as employees of the digital platforms they work for, as opposed to self-employed freelancers.
Glovo is active in more than 20 countries, most of which are in Europe.
