A rough stretch of headlines for exercise bike company Peloton has made its way to Tampa Bay.
The company on Wednesday filed a notice with the state that it intends to close a facility in Lakeland, resulting in 58 workers losing their jobs. More than half of those are “field specialists” who focus on customer and technical support.
“We regret the need to implement this layoff,” the notice stated.
The Lakeland notice came the same day Peloton announced it was cutting 2,800 jobs worldwide as it adjusts to a post-pandemic marketplace.
“In the face of supply chain disruptions and delivery delays, we invested heavily in near-term capacity, inventories, and logistics to protect our member experience,” Peloton co-founder John Foley wrote in a letter to employees on Wednesday. “However, as our post-COVID demand picture looks different than anticipated, these investments no longer align with how we intend to operate our business going forward.”
Foley also announced he would be stepping aside as CEO, and naming as the company’s new leader former Spotify and Netflix executive Barry McCarthy.
After peaking at more than $162 per share in late 2020, Peloton stock has fallen precipitously as those who began using the company’s exercise equipment during quarantine stopped buying products or went back outside. The company’s stock had fallen below $23 per share before spiking to nearly $40 after the leadership change and layoff announcement.
The company’s financial misfortune coincided with two ill-timed instances of product placement in popular culture. In the past two months, characters on HBO’s Sex and the City spinoff And Just Like That and Showtime’s Billions both had heart attacks while using Peloton bikes.
Economic Development Reporter

source