This is one reason why US tech will always win. Any tech company in EU or Asia that becomes big enough will be acquired by the heavily capitalized US companies or their employees will be hired away.
DoorDash Joins Forces with Wolt
61–70 of 166 posts
Re: DoorDash Joins Forces with Wolt
#62Why would the EU approve the deal? Seems like a no brainer to reject it.
The EU has no say in this, Finland does.
Re: DoorDash Joins Forces with Wolt
#63Wolt was a show of Northern European style software/business development, and it’s why Doordash acquired them. Now that US big tech has their dirty fingers all over Wolt, I’ll guess all that will be gone in 3 years as the bullshit starts creeping in.
That is the downside of free trade: foreigners can fly in and buy up all your companies. Which is exactly why China protects their tech industry like a wolf her cubs.
Capitalism favours the strong.
Re: DoorDash Joins Forces with Wolt
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
It definitely won't get cheaper. 3 euros seems a completely reasonable price for this delivery.
Most other deliveries are cheaper even if they are 15mins driving distance. And some of them are free. The only reason McDonalds delivery is 3euros, because they refuse to pay 30% tax - so Wolt puts that tax on end-user.
McD has razor thin margins. Your expectations are completely unrealistic.
Re: DoorDash Joins Forces with Wolt
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
Depends on the market i guess, but in Finland and Germany they were employees, freelance isn't even an option.
Def not in Finland. The question whether the freelance status is legal or whether the couriers should be classified as employees is still open. There was a preliminary decision that they are employees but the court process is still ongoing.
Correct. The labor board has issued its opinion that they should be considered employees but it hasn't yet been enforced by the courts.
Instead, all Wolt couriers in Finland have been "independent contractors" and had to have their own business name or do other paperwork, that because of how Finnish law works for small business owners, means they get cut off from any public health insurance, unemployment insurance, etc.
Courier work doesn't pay nearly enough to afford private insurance here, and since they aren't unionized (because after all they're not "workers" but business owners), they can't join a union unemployment benefit either.
There has been an ongoing attempt at unionization but it has been difficult to push through; the apps are fighting against it tooth and nail because they already run at a loss and underpay the drivers as it is. Wolt deliberately obfuscates how much couriers are making an hour in the driver app, runs propaganda articles on the customer app, and both it and Foodora have continued to fight against employee or union recognition in the courts.
It's become apparent for a while they are running scared, and running out of money. Quality of service has massively degraded over the last two years, as they've stripped support staff to the bone, manipulated delivery fees and ranges to nickle-and-dime customers, massive order delays and fudged estimates, started manipulating algorithms to push certain restaurants and promotions, rushed couriers causing constant order failures, which then mean more cost in customer refunds. It's god bad enough I stopped using it completely, because I just could no longer trust that I'd even get what I ordered, or that it wouldn't be left a sodden mess leaking all over my entryway.
It's an app that was probably going to implode if they didn't get a buyout and soon, so this move is incredibly predictable. My only surprise is just how greedy they went with the bogus valuation here.
Re: DoorDash Joins Forces with Wolt
#66As almost-daily user of Wolt, I'm interested to see how this will impact me. Maybe I finally won't have to pay 3 euros for McDonalds to get delivered for a 10minute walking distance.
This is not meant to be condescending, but do you have any form of disability or health issues that prevent you from getting the food yourself? In cases like this it would be fair for these apps to show support and maybe even drop the delivery charges.
Re: DoorDash Joins Forces with Wolt
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
73% [1] of couriers don't want to be employees (in Finland). They are quite happy with this arrangement as it means they are paid more. The survey that was conducted was quite thorough and interesting. It's worth a read. (Just stating facts here, don't have an opinion myself on this) [1] https://blog.wolt.com/fin/2021/06/23/taloustutkimus-majority...
Classic short-term fallacy. Yes, you get more net payout as a "contractor" - but you don't get paid sick leave or pension contributions unless you care for these on your own. This is why this model is very frowned upon by European societies as it inevitably leaves taxpayers to pick up the tab in the form of basic social security.
You don't even get paid more. The apps have been circulating this myth in the press, but it's based on obfuscating of the numbers at best, and outright lies at worst.
There's a reason most of their couriers are immigrants: anyone else can get paid more stocking a supermarket or driving a cab.
Re: DoorDash Joins Forces with Wolt
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wolt's delivery staff haven't been treated as actual employees in its native Finland. It was actually quite recent when the occupational safety administration ruled that Wolt's delivery staff are actually employees, but Wolt is appealing.
I wonder if that's why they are now exiting. They can see that there is no future for this kind of business as governments crack down on the platform economy.
Food delivery is a multi billion industry and being the number one app is still lucrative.
Re: DoorDash Joins Forces with Wolt
#69Wolt was a show of Northern European style software/business development, and it’s why Doordash acquired them. Now that US big tech has their dirty fingers all over Wolt, I’ll guess all that will be gone in 3 years as the bullshit starts creeping in.
That is the downside of free trade: foreigners can fly in and buy up all your companies. Which is exactly why China protects their tech industry like a wolf her cubs. Capitalism favours the strong.
and that isolationism is the most sure way to grow financially and not socially
Re: DoorDash Joins Forces with Wolt
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because the EU and the member states don't have jurisdiction to block every single company in the market from being acquired. And wolt is not exactly sensitive to national security interests or at risk of creating a monopoly
And at least in Finland Doordash really isn't a competitor, so there isn't even monopoly issues.
Finland is historically not especially concerned with monopoly issues in any case. Nearly the entire retail sector is controlled by only two companies.