Peloton has laid off some 2,800 corporate employees as part of its bid to overcome its growing difficulties after a meteoric rise to fame in the early days of the pandemic. Some of them are understandably upset and angry, and according to CNBCsome of them held the company’s first general meeting aimed at introducing the new CEO.
In addition to laying off 20% of its workforce – no instructors were affected by the layoffs – Peloton also replaced its chief executive. John Foley, who is also a co-founder of the company, resigned and was replaced by former Spotify COO Barry McCarthy. CNBC says that both former and current employees made angry comments in the chat section of the meeting, with one of them calling the employees “terribly deaf.”
Another person proclaimed that he is selling all Peloton clothes in order to pay his bills. “The company was wrong to allow people who were fired to join this chat,” said another person. The meeting, attended by Foley and McCarthy, was reportedly interrupted.
The Peloton was wildly popular just over a year ago and reached a market value of $50 billion in January 2021. It is now worth around $8 billion, and larger companies like Amazon and Nike are showing interest in acquiring it. the fitness equipment manufacturer. While Peloton didn’t openly say it was planning to let people go, Foley previously said the company “needs to[s] to evaluate [its] organization structure and size [its] team” to make the business more flexible. This was part of your response to a CNBC report claiming the company was halting production of Bike and Tread. Foley denied the rumor.
The former CEO also did not say whether calls for his resignation were part of the reason he is stepping down. Activist investor Blackwells Capital previously accused him of misleading investors about certain information, among other things that cost the company $40 billion. “I’ve always felt there should be a better CEO for Peloton than I am,” Foley said when McCarthy was formally named the company’s new CEO. McCarthy is expected to use his knowledge of content-based subscription models to keep Peloton running, but he clearly needs to win over his own employees first.
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