Indian restaurant aggregator app Zomato has stopped its subscription program Zomato Pro in Indonesia and the Philippines. The unicorn also laid off the local team in Indonesia, according to local media DailySocial. It will handle the operations remotely from India going forward.
On Sunday, the company’s Indonesian branch announced on Twitter that Pro users can apply for a membership fee refund which should arrive within two weeks to a month. “You can still access Zomato’s restaurant search feature from the app and website, and still share reviews or pictures there,” it said.
Launched in 2018, Zomato Pro—previously known as Zomato Gold—offered exclusive benefits such as reservations to dine-in, “buy one get one,” or other special discounts in selected restaurants. The program was priced at IDR 200,000 (USD 13.60) for a six-month membership or IDR 250,000 (USD 17) for a year.
Zomato also shut down the program in the Philippines, the news site Rappler reported. “You can continue using the membership benefits till November 30, 2020. Post this date, you will not be able to avail the benefits of your Zomato Pro membership,” it told subscribers in an email, as quoted by Rappler.
The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zomato’s business has been suffering during the pandemic. In May, the company laid off 13% of its 4,000 employees in India, and announced salary cuts of up to 50% for the remaining staff. Nevertheless, the Gurugram-based startup is reportedly closing in on completing a USD 600 million fundraising round.
