The chief executive of SkipTheDishes says hundreds of Canadian employees are being laid off by the food delivery service and its parent company.
Paul Burns says 100 Canada-based workers will depart SkipTheDishes.
Some 700 staff members in Canada who work for its owner Just Eat Takeaway.com will also lose their jobs.
Burns announced the news in a LinkedIn post where he said the cuts were the result of a comprehensive review and restructure.
Sylvain Charlebois, the senior director at Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, said inflation likely has a part to play in the cutbacks.
“I know a lot of people think that food prices are much higher, but they’re much higher on menus … driving people away from using apps like Skip or Uber, or things like that,” he said.
“It’s unfortunate for some people to lose their jobs, but I think it’s something that was highly predictable, unfortunately.”
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Statistics Canada reports food services were a major contributor to inflation over the last year, with prices increasing 3.8 per cent from July 2023.
Prices at grocery stores, on the other hand, are only up about two per cent for the same time period.
While Charlebois says it’s likely more cuts can be expected for Skip and other companies like it, things may turn around eventually.
“At some point the economy will be back, people will start spending more on food service, and I suspect that Skip will be back — or other companies will be back — to provide the same kind of service,” he said.
In an emailed statement, Kelly Fournel, the CEO of Tech Manitoba, of which SkipTheDishes is a member, said the announcement has not impacted her organization but “was indeed a surprise.”
“Skip recently renewed their membership with us, they still have (thankfully) a member from their leadership team on our board of directors, and they are still interested in providing mentors for our Pembina Trails Early College program we offer … for grades 9-12,” she said.
Burns said the decision to cut staff was not easy but is necessary to ensure the business has the right resources and structure to drive growth.
SkipTheDishes was founded in Winnipeg in 2012 and acquired in December 2016 by Just Eat, which merged with Takeaway.com in 2020.
— with files from Global’s Daisy Woelk
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