LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) – Fifty-eight workers are losing their jobs at Peloton’s Lakeland facility amid shakeups at the top of the at-home exercise bike company.
In a letter sent to the Florida Dept. of Economic Opportunity, Peloton states the entire New Tampa Highway location will close with layoff notifications beginning Tuesday.
The positions lost at the facility are warehouse specialist (9), field specialist 1 (21), field specialist 2 (12), certified service technician (3), field operations coordinator (1), specialist (3), team lead (4), field operations supervisor (4) and field operations manager (1).
“We regret the need to implement this layoff. The purpose of this letter is to provide you with the best notice possible of any events that may affect the employees you represent so that you can prepare accordingly,” the letter reads.
2020 was a banner year for Peloton as people were on lockdown at home and staying out of the gym, revenue for the luxury bikes soared 66%, according to the New York Times.
Peloton’s Lakeland facility opened in 2018 with 10 – 20 employees, according to the Lakeland Economic Development Council. As the company ramped up production the staff grew to 58 by 2022.
“Most of the jobs that were listed were field representatives. Essentially the facility was assembling Peloton products, delivering those products to customers in the area,” said Ashley Cheek, Vice President of Business Development for the Lakeland Economic Development Council.
Then people started going back to the gym and Peloton’s success started to wane.
Last month, Peloton announced rising inflation and heightened supply chain costs required them to start charging new fees to its customers.
Beginning Jan. 31, the company will be asking customers to pay an additional $250 for delivery and set up for its bike, and an additional $350 for its tread, according to a banner on its website. Previously, those fees were included in the total price for both products.
Then this week, Peloton announced its CEO John Foley was stepping down as chief executive to become executive chairman.
Barry McCarthy, who has held senior leadership roles at Spotify and Netflix, has been appointed CEO and President of Peloton, effective Feb. 9.
This week also brought news Peloton was cutting 2,800 positions globally, a workforce reduction of 20%.
The layoffs, including those in Lakeland, are part of a “comprehensive program” to save the company $800 million.
“We are in a very strong labor environment for anyone that’s looking for a job in Lakeland,” said Cheek.
Cheek says Polk County’s unemployment rate is 4.1%.
“I would say almost every company in Lakeland, or business, is hiring a new employee right now at all different skill set. We’re continually welcoming new industry to the area which means more jobs for our residents,” she said.
Those interested in finding a job can visit https://www.careersourcepolk.com/.