Food-delivery platform Lieferando plans to cut about 2,000 courier positions in Germany, equivalent to roughly one-fifth of its rider workforce, the company said on Thursday. The redundancies are to be completed by year-end, with some locations potentially finalising the process in early 2026. The unit of Dutch group Just Eat Takeaway intends to outsource around 5 percent of its order volume to external logistics companies it calls “fleet partners”. Germany chief Lennard Neubauer said the move is aimed at improving service speed and coping with intensifying competition from rivals such as Uber Eats and Wolt, whose delivery models rely more heavily on subcontractors. Lieferando, which until now has mostly employed its riders directly, will negotiate a social plan with the works council. Neubauer added that partner firms would be required to hire couriers on standard contracts, and that further outsourcing beyond the initial 5 percent is not currently planned.