Zomato-owned quick commerce platform Blinkit has reportedly shut down over 100 dark kitchens in Delhi-NCR regions of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida, and Greater Noida due to the ongoing delivery worker strikes.

Per the recently revised payout structure, delivery partners will receive Rs 15 instead of Rs 25 for each delivery. This has led to protests by several delivery partners across the Delhi-NCR region. Thousands of workers oppose a change in their compensation system, which they allege will halve their income and make their jobs unsustainable.

Blinkit has a notable presence in the Delhi-NCR region, where half of its approximately 400 dark stores are located across 20 cities in India. According to media reports, 50-60 stores in Gurugram have shut down, and there are expected to be more closures in Noida and Delhi due to the new fee structure.

Furthermore, customers in the area have been experiencing issues with placing orders at offline stores that utilize the Blinkit app. These locations are currently labelled as ‘temporarily unavailable’ due to ongoing maintenance, which has led to several customers expressing their concerns on social media. The closure of these dark stores is suspected to be the root cause of these locations becoming ‘temporarily unavailable’ on the Blinkit app.

Zomato bought Blinkit (earlier known as Grofers) last year for $550 million. The quick delivery service provider promises delivery in 10 minutes to the customer’s doorstep. India’s leading fast delivery apps, Zepto and Blinkit, also faced protests last year about their quick delivery services.

Meanwhile, Zomato’s consolidated loss widened to Rs 346.6 crore (year-on-year) for the quarter that ended December 31, against a loss of Rs 63 crore in the same period last year, the company said.