‘Pandemic profiteering’: Uber’s Grubhub proposal draws swift rebukes

A Grubhub delivery person checks his phone on May 3, 2020 in New York City. Uber has made a takeover bid for meal delivery group Grubhub, media reports said on May 12, 2020, sparking a backlash from US officials accusing Uber of pandemic profiteering. — AFP

Uber Technologies Inc’s offer to buy Grubhub Inc antagonised officials in Washington and major US cities, who were already taking steps to limit the fees companies charge restaurants and regulate their treatment of workers. If a deal between the two companies proceeds, analysts said it’s likely to face antitrust scrutiny.

David Cicilline, a US representative from Rhode Island who heads the House antitrust subcommittee, said the proposed deal underscores the urgency for a moratorium on most mergers, an idea supported by other Democrats. “Uber is a notoriously predatory company that has long denied its drivers a living wage. Its attempt to acquire Grubhub – which has a history of exploiting local restaurants through deceptive tactics and extortionate fees – marks a new low in pandemic profiteering,” Cicilline said in a statement.