Gorilla tactics: Berlin delivery riders take on $1B startup

Riders for the Berlin grocery delivery startup Gorillas have staged protests in the German capital demanding the reinstatement of a fired colleague

BERLIN -- Dozens of workers gathered outside of one of Berlin's most-celebrated startups, the grocery delivery company Gorillas, to protest the firing hours earlier of a colleague. “We want Santiago back!” the young riders chanted last week, threatening to blockade one of the company's inner-city warehouses with their bikes unless he was reinstated. The wildcat strike on a balmy June evening was unusual even by Germany's strong tradition of labor rights, highlighting growing tensions in the capital's freewheeling startup scene. “We came here to show our solidarity, to support our friend,” said Zeynep, a Gorillas rider who declined to give her last name for fear of facing repercussions from the company. "We want this decision to be reversed as soon as possible.”