"Spain’s Glovo Workers Start Strike Over Layoffs and Labor Abuses"

The plan will affect delivery drivers in approximately 60 Spanish cities.

On Friday, Glovo delivery drivers in Spain began a three-day partial strike to protest 750 layoffs and labor abuses, marking the first international protest of its kind at the company.

The situation arose after the formalization of delivery drivers’ employment contracts, which in June 2025 went from being self-employed to salaried workers, due to a legislative change that mandated their direct hiring.

The strikes were called by the Workers’ Commissions (CCOO) union and supported by the General Union of Workers (UGT), beginning with a four-hour work stoppage on Friday, a full day on Saturday, and a four-hour work stoppage on Sunday.

CCOO organized demonstrations outside McDonald’s restaurants in Parla, Villalba, Valdemoro, and Fuenlabrada, Madrid, as part of the mobilization against the workforce reduction plan announced in March.

The plan will affect delivery drivers in approximately 60 Spanish cities. Meanwhile, CCOO is demanding the withdrawal of the layoffs, an end to disciplinary sanctions without due process, and negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement regarding working conditions. [...]

Glovo justified the layoffs as “necessary to avoid closure,” citing reduced service in several provinces, although it maintains operations in 800 locations. The company directly employed more than 14,000 delivery drivers in 2025.

According to the CCOO union, there are another 20,000 workers in fleets of “shell companies.” The Social Security system has yet to confirm its number of registered workers, estimated at 30,000, which reflects the scale of indirect employment on the platform.

Glovo, founded in Spain, has belonged to the German group Delivery Hero since 2022 and operates in 23 countries. The company declined to comment on the strike called by Spanish unions.

In 2025, the European Commission fined Glovo and Delivery Hero €329 million for forming a “cartel” in food and product delivery over four years.