Internet splits over Deepinder Goyal's comments on gig economy after strike
Deepinder Goyal's comments on the gig worker strike on Christmas and new year's eve went viral on social media and invited arguments both for and against from netizens, founders, and investors.
The Eternal founder took to X to share multiple posts on the debate surrounding the country's gig workforce. "I repeat — gig work is one of the largest organised job creation engines in India. And we provide insurance, fair, timely and predictable wages," he said, adding that the industry "needs less regulation" to bring more people into the fold.
Goyal also said that the class inequality people are protesting against was not shaped by delivery companies, just brought home loud and clear. "For centuries, class divides kept the labor of the poor invisible to the rich. Factory workers toiled behind walls, farmers in distant fields, domestic help in backrooms. The wealthy consumed the fruits of that labor without ever seeing the faces or the fatigue behind it. The gig economy shattered that invisibility, at unprecedented scale," he wrote.
Multiple investors and founders threw their weight behind Goyal. Info Edge cofounder Sanjeev Bikhchandani said on X, "A Champagne Socialist who married a film star and had a designer wedding in Udaipur and a first wedding anniversary in Maldives, has the audacity to then shed crocodile tears around alleged exploitation of gig workers. Aam Aadmi my foot."
Hemant Mohapatra of Lightspeed Venture Partners posted on X, "How many jobs does a stand-up comedian create?" referring to comedian Kunal Kamra, who has been vocal on social media about backing the gig workers strike over the past week.
One verified user wrote, "4.5L+ people and their direct dependents and many other indirect dependents have a decent livelihood. Simply ignore naysayers."
However, there were those who criticised what Goyal wrote as being insensitive.
Author Sava Naqvi slammed Goyal for using the word "miscreants" for gig workers on strike. "Given your huge profit margins (it) might be more graceful to refer to labour without phrases that criminalise any assertion of rights," she wrote on X.
Another founder called out Goyal pointing out a different issue. "Most of the dark warehouses for quick commerce are in unhygienic locations, following unhygienic practices. Whether the land is legal or not, it’s all just contracted out without the larger companies caring about it," Neeraj Poddar wrote on X.
One investor said the gig economy in India is important, as pointed out by Goyal in his post, "because we have no other source of large scale job creation for hundreds of thousands of people."
The Liver Doc, a doctor renowned on X for taking down inaccurate medical theories, said Goyal's statement was "nauseating". "How does serving more chicken biriyanis and paneer butter masala help transform our country at scale?" he wrote on X.
Goyal also defended 10-minute deliveries, explaining that they are enabled by the density of stores around a user's home and not by "asking delivery partners to drive fast".
ET reported that food delivery and quick commerce platforms clocked record orders on December 31 — unaffected by the gig workers’ strike.
The Eternal founder took to X to share multiple posts on the debate surrounding the country's gig workforce. "I repeat — gig work is one of the largest organised job creation engines in India. And we provide insurance, fair, timely and predictable wages," he said, adding that the industry "needs less regulation" to bring more people into the fold.
Goyal also said that the class inequality people are protesting against was not shaped by delivery companies, just brought home loud and clear. "For centuries, class divides kept the labor of the poor invisible to the rich. Factory workers toiled behind walls, farmers in distant fields, domestic help in backrooms. The wealthy consumed the fruits of that labor without ever seeing the faces or the fatigue behind it. The gig economy shattered that invisibility, at unprecedented scale," he wrote.
Multiple investors and founders threw their weight behind Goyal. Info Edge cofounder Sanjeev Bikhchandani said on X, "A Champagne Socialist who married a film star and had a designer wedding in Udaipur and a first wedding anniversary in Maldives, has the audacity to then shed crocodile tears around alleged exploitation of gig workers. Aam Aadmi my foot."
Hemant Mohapatra of Lightspeed Venture Partners posted on X, "How many jobs does a stand-up comedian create?" referring to comedian Kunal Kamra, who has been vocal on social media about backing the gig workers strike over the past week.
One verified user wrote, "4.5L+ people and their direct dependents and many other indirect dependents have a decent livelihood. Simply ignore naysayers."
However, there were those who criticised what Goyal wrote as being insensitive.
Author Sava Naqvi slammed Goyal for using the word "miscreants" for gig workers on strike. "Given your huge profit margins (it) might be more graceful to refer to labour without phrases that criminalise any assertion of rights," she wrote on X.
Another founder called out Goyal pointing out a different issue. "Most of the dark warehouses for quick commerce are in unhygienic locations, following unhygienic practices. Whether the land is legal or not, it’s all just contracted out without the larger companies caring about it," Neeraj Poddar wrote on X.
One investor said the gig economy in India is important, as pointed out by Goyal in his post, "because we have no other source of large scale job creation for hundreds of thousands of people."
The Liver Doc, a doctor renowned on X for taking down inaccurate medical theories, said Goyal's statement was "nauseating". "How does serving more chicken biriyanis and paneer butter masala help transform our country at scale?" he wrote on X.
Goyal also defended 10-minute deliveries, explaining that they are enabled by the density of stores around a user's home and not by "asking delivery partners to drive fast".
ET reported that food delivery and quick commerce platforms clocked record orders on December 31 — unaffected by the gig workers’ strike.
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