European Commission Issues First No-Poach Decision in Labour Markets, Warning Against the Collusive Risks of Minority Shareholdings

In this article, authors Laurie-Anne Grelier, Toni Pitesa, and María Micolau Martí (Covington & Burling) write about the European Commission’s landmark antitrust decision fining Delivery Hero and Glovo EUR 329 million for cartel conduct. This is the first time the Commission has penalized companies for labour-related collusion involving no-poach agreements, the exchange of sensitive competitive information, and market allocation—highlighting growing EU regulatory attention on labor market practices. The case also breaks new ground as the Commission’s first enforcement action addressing antitrust concerns tied to a minority shareholding in a competitor.

The Commission’s investigation found that, between July 2018 and July 2022, Delivery Hero leveraged its growing minority stake in Glovo to coordinate commercial behavior. This included agreements not to solicit each other’s employees (excluding couriers), sharing competitively sensitive business strategies, and allocating geographic markets by avoiding competition in certain EU regions. Delivery Hero exerted influence via shareholder rights and board access, enabling alignment with Glovo’s strategies and decisions. These findings emerged from a referral by a national competition authority—likely Spain’s—and an anonymous whistleblower, and culminated in both firms settling the case in exchange for a 10% fine reduction.

The decision signals a tightening enforcement climate in the EU around labor market coordination and ownership structures that may facilitate collusion. It follows the Commission’s policy evolution—outlined in its 2023 Horizontal Guidelines and 2024 Policy Brief on Antitrust in Labour Markets—identifying wage-fixing and no-poach deals as serious restrictions of competition. The ruling emphasizes the need for companies with minority interests in competitors to establish robust safeguards against the misuse of sensitive information and to ensure that investor influence does not cross into anticompetitive coordination…

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