Key Takeaways
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized DoorDash’s Instacart deal after a major worker wage settlement.
- DoorDash acknowledged some New York City drivers were underpaid or paid late.
- Mamdani warned the acquisition could raise prices and worsen worker exploitation.
On Thursday (Oct. 29), DoorDash agreed to buy Instacart for a whopping $17 billion, potentially marking its largest acquisition to date, but New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani had one question: Where did they get the funds from? According to the politician, just last month, the food delivery giant “couldn’t seem to find the money” to pay its drivers until his administration took a record $131.5 million enforcement action against the company for systematically violating the city’s delivery worker laws.
“Just last month, DoorDash couldn’t seem to find the money to pay their deliveristas — until our administration forced them to give back $131M+ in stolen wages and penalties,” Mamdani tweeted just hours after news of the deal broke. “This week, they’ve managed to find $17 billion to acquire one of their main competitors.”
“Corporate consolidation means higher prices, harsher exploitation, and greater economic inequality for New Yorkers,” he continued. “We’ve stood up to these giants before. That doesn’t stop now.” While Mamdani argued that the acquisition would lead to higher prices, it’s worth mentioning that DoorDash said Instacart would retain its brand name and that consumers would only need to pay one subscription fee instead of two.
That being said, who’s to say that the subscription price won’t eventually go up — as has been the case with virtually every other digital service platform in recent years — especially with less competition in the picture? As AP noted, the acquisition is expected to be finalized toward the end of 2027 or the beginning of 2028, provided Instacart’s shareholders and government regulators approve the deal.
Why Zohran Mamdani took action against DoorDash over unpaid wages
Last month, Mamdani claimed that DoorDash “underpaid more than 260,000 workers,” with the company acknowledging that some NYC Dashers were either underpaid or received their wages late. “When a worker earns a wage,” the mayor said in a statement, “they deserve to be paid that wage — not tomorrow, not after a lawsuit, but on time and in full.”…