The food delivery giant is hiring a chief of staff for its CEO, Deepinder Goyal. The application deadline is today (November 21) at 6 PM. Goyal said that he received over 10,000 applications for this post, which sparked a backlash from netizens for asking candidates to pay Rs 20 lakh for the first year.
Goyal stated that the role will have no salary for the first year and will have to pay Rs 20 lakhs for this opportunity, and 100% of its fee will be donated to the non-profit organisation Feeding India, with the company willing to offer Rs 50 lakh to a charity of the candidate's choice.
Goyal in a post on X claimed, "Update 2: we have over 10,000 applications, a lot of them well thought through, mixed between -
1. Those who have all the money 2. Those who have some of the money 3. Those who say they don’t have the money 4. Those who really don’t have the money
We will be closing the application inbox by 6pm IST today. Stay tuned for Update 3."
In a post shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), he said he is looking for a "Chief of Staff" for himself. The job description states, "anything and everything to build the future of Zomato (including Blinkit, District, Hyperpure and Feeding India)."
Goyal said that the role would offer "10x more learnings than a 2-year degree from a top management school, working with me and some of the smartest folks in consumer tech". However, he further said, "This role is not a conventional role with the usual perks that such jobs come with".
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Goyal said from the second year onward, "We will start paying you the usual salary (definitely more than Rs 50 lakh) but something we will only talk about at the start of Year 2)."
X users criticised Goyal's job posting with memes and comments, calling it unfair. Some questions payment of Rs 20 lakhs for the recruitment. Critics pointed out that this requirement excludes many Indians who cannot afford such an expense. Some users likened it to an unpaid internship and expressed concerns about such practices becoming common.
One X user shared a video from an old Bollywood movie scene captioned "Live scenes from the Zomato HQ", in which it shows Ajay Devgn playing a character of unemployed youth giving an interview to the company CEO, where he asked him for some money to hire him for the vacancy.
Another user said, Paying Rs 20 lakhs for a ‘Chief of Staff’ role? This is pure exploitation and legally questionable." a user name Ankush added, Mr. Goyal, donations get tax exemptions, but employment payments don’t. @Zomato , as a publicly traded company, such moves risk legal trouble and reputational damage. You’re no longer a private firm-every action is under scrutiny. Consult your legal team before proceeding.