Multiple Platforms Announce Gradual Rollout of Social Insurance for Food Delivery Riders
In February 2025, Meituan, JD.com and several other platforms successively issued announcements stating that they would gradually start paying social insurance for food delivery riders. Media professional Xiang Dongliang calculated that Meituan has about 820,000 full-time and stable riders, and that paying the five social insurances and the housing provident fund at the minimum contribution base would cost 15.5 billion yuan per year, exceeding Meituan's net profit of more than 13.8 billion yuan in 2023. He believes the platforms cannot bear the full cost and will merely open accounts to make the deductions on riders' behalf.