MilkRun collapses as grocery delivery app makes all staff and riders redundant

Delivery start-up MilkRun has announced it will close its doors and make all staff and riders redundant.

Company founder Dany Milham sent an email to its 400 workers informing them the delivery service would be shutting up shop for good by the end of the week.

‘I’m writing to let you know that we have made the difficult decision to wind down the business, and as a result, MilkRun will cease trading this Friday,’ he wrote. 

The shock news comes weeks after the workforce at the start-up was slashed by 20 per cent and despite Mr Milham closing one of the largest early stage venture capital raises in Australian history and securing $75million for the company in 2022.

Major delivery company MilkRun has announced it will close its doors and make all staff and riders redundant

Mr Milham blamed tough economic and capital conditions for the decision to close the start-up. 

‘Since we announced our structural changes in February, economic and capital market conditions have continued to deteriorate, and while the business has continued to perform well, we feel strongly that this is the right decision in the current environment.’ 

Mr Milham reassured staff they would be paid severance packages.  

‘We’ve always been committed to doing things the right way, and winding down the business while we still have a sufficient cash balance enables us to ensure our people and suppliers are paid in full.’ 

The announcement comes weeks after the company slashed 20 per cent of its workforce. 

Mr Milham had blamed tough macroeconomic conditions for the decision at the time.

‘With economic and market conditions changing rapidly, we need to get ahead of the curve and evolve the way we operate to fit the current environment and extend our runway,’ he said in February.

‘This means making some structural changes and some tough decisions that will unfortunately impact some of our people.’

MilkRun was launched in 2021 and became one of the first companies to offer ultra-fast delivery to customer’s homes.

The organisation promised to deliver groceries, alcohol and other supplies to the doorstep in as little as 20 minutes.  

The company was started by Mr Milham who is also the co-founder of mattress company Koala.

More to come 

Company founder Dany Milham sent an email to its 400 workers informing them the delivery service would be shutting up shop for good by the end of the week