EU "hits" food companies - Delivery Hero and Glovo fined 329 million euros for violating laws
German online food delivery company Delivery Hero and its Spanish unit Glovo were fined 329 million euros ($376 million) for participating in a cartel that included an agreement not to recruit each other's employees, EU regulators said.
The move came after a year-long investigation by the European Commission, prompted by two raids in 2023. The EU competition enforcer said the cartel operated from July 2018 to July 2022, the same period when Delivery Hero increased its minority stake in Glovo to 94% in July 2022. The companies admitted the violations in exchange for a 10% reduction in their fines.
"This case is important because these practices were facilitated through an anti-competitive use of Delivery Hero's minority stake in Glovo," EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said in a statement.
"It is also the first time that the Commission is sanctioning non-recruitment agreements, where companies stop competing for the best talent and reduce opportunities for workers," she added.
Regulators said a shareholders agreement between the two companies, signed when Delivery Hero took a minority stake in Glovo, contained reciprocal restrictive clauses prohibiting the hiring of certain employees, which were later expanded into a general non-recruitment agreement.
The companies also exchanged information on prices, commercial strategies, capacity, costs and divided national markets in Europe among themselves.
Delivery Hero's fine was 223 million euros and Glovo's 105.7 million euros. The total fine is about 20% smaller than the provision of more than 400 million euros that Delivery Hero had foreseen last year.
Delivery Hero is present in more than 70 countries worldwide, including 16 in Europe, while Glovo is active in more than 20 countries worldwide and 8 in Europe.
AI "threatens" women's professions - They are three times more at risk than men of being replaced by technology
A new United Nations report shows that women's jobs in high-income countries are more likely to be replaced or impacted by artificial intelligence......
Unstable employees! - Bars in the capital are looking for staff at least 2 times a year
Unstable waiters and bartenders are forcing bars and restaurants in Tirana to publish job advertisements several times a year, often for the same......
Greece will supply Europe with gas - The project envisages the transportation of about 25 billion cubic meters per year
Greece's strategy to use the existing natural gas infrastructure in the Southeastern European region in a reverse flow is on track to be implemented. The gas......
Salaries in the south "empty" Tirana of waiters - Flora Xhamani Baba: This is due to the decline in the influx to the capital
The migration of youth, and not only from the capital, to work in the south of the country during the summer season is causing problems for bars and......
What should be the new industrial vision in Albania? - “Human capital and regional market, keys to a productive economy”
The development of an Albanian industrial model would be considered by economists as one of the potentials that Albania should exploit. According to......
OSHEE "reschedules" 81.5 million euro loans - Borrows 45.75 million euro from the EBRD, saves over 7 million euro in bank interest
OSHEE will receive a 45.75 million euro loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to refinance and extend the terms of existing......
Businesses in industry, optimistic about exports - BoA: Confidence in the economy increased by 1.1 points in May. Services, high level of demand
After a decline in April, confidence in the economy returned to growth in May. According to the Bank of Albania's monthly report, the economic sentiment......
79 million euros in energy support - Kozeli: Grants for 8,000 families, we are adding charging stations for electric cars
The Committee on Productive Activities approved the draft law on the Multiannual Operational Program for Energy under the Instrument for Pre-Accession......
