“This decision is aimed at further concentrating Glovo’s presence in markets so that efforts and investments can be directed toward key markets with high growth potential.”
The same explanation goes on to say that this refocusing, as the company put it, will allow Glovo to better serve the millions of users worldwide who rely on its app every day. Bosnia and Herzegovina ended up outside that list of priorities, and the company did not name any local factor as decisive.
What is the company telling its employees?
Part of the statement is devoted to the people who worked for the platform over those five years, and it is the only section that spells out a concrete obligation toward individuals:
“We sincerely thank all our employees for their exceptional contribution and dedicated work over the years, and we are committed to supporting the employees affected by this decision through this transition period with the utmost care and respect.”
The company also singled out the importance of the local ecosystem in Bosnia and Herzegovina, meaning the restaurants, shops and couriers that did business through the platform. It added a reassurance aimed at everyone owed money: “Furthermore, we want to give absolute assurance to all parties involved that we will fulfill all our financial and legal obligations.”
Five years since the Donesi acquisition
Glovo entered the Bosnian and Herzegovinian market in 2021, and not by launching a new service from scratch but by acquiring the local brand Donesi, which until then had been the name under which people in the country ordered food and groceries. The company opened its first local office in Sarajevo in July 2021, when the business took on the Spanish name and the yellow bag that soon became a familiar sight on the streets.