Throughout 2021, dozens of workers at grocery delivery company Gorillas took to the streets to protest poor working conditions at the Berlin-based start up. Workers said they suffer from back pain and other health problems due to the heavy bags they have to carry, weight limits not being respected and a lack of equipment to safely meet their 10-minute delivery target on icy roads, as well as low wages and payroll problems. A Gorillas spokesperson said that rider safety is a priority, bikes are professionally maintained, it was updating its rider kit and that while it confirmed there were occasional payroll errors, it says these amounted to only a small percentage.

Gorillas has also been accused by workers of union busting, a claim it denies. The riders, who are employees of the company, have been organising as the Gorillas Workers Collective, and in October 2021 at least 40 riders were fired after participating in wildcat strikes. Gorillas confirmed that workers had been fired for attending “unannounced” strikes. An attempt by the company to block the election of an internal works council was rejected by a labour court in November 2021. Later in November, Gorillas announced it would pilot a new franchise model in Berlin, a move that workers saw as an attempt to fragment their organizing efforts. The company denies this.

Further information can be found in the articles linked below.