The virtual cycling training app Zwift yesterday made more staff redundant, as co-CEO Kurt Biedler resigned too, with the company stating that despite the news it “remains a healthy, global business with a passionate community”.
The job losses follow similar announcements over the past two years, around 150 staff let go in May 2022 before a further 80 jobs were cut last March, the second round of redundancies accounting for around 15 per cent of the workforce.
Zwift confirmed in a post on its forums last night that the news of the latest job losses had been shared with employees on Monday morning, Eric Min continuing as sole CEO following Biedler’s resignation.
Redundancies “impact all areas of the business”, Zwift confirmed but would not put a figure on how many staff had been let go.
The post insisted that the business remains “healthy and our community is growing”, but growth has “not rebounded at a fast enough pace to justify all of the investments that we have been making”, meaning the decision has been made to “become leaner” and “focus on sustainable and efficient growth”.
Addressing the company’s title sponsorship of major women’s professional races, namely the Tour de Frances Femmes avec Zwift and Paris Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, the post said Zwift is “committed to this sponsorship and to supporting the continued growth of women’s cycling” for the remainder of the deal that runs until 2025.
[ASO/Thomas Maheux]
The statement said: “We shared with our team this morning that we are making a reduction in force. This was difficult news to deliver and we regret having to part ways with some incredibly talented and passionate people. Their contributions to our mission were substantial and we’re grateful for their work.
“Eric Min will continue as sole CEO and Kurt Biedler has chosen to resign. Zwift remains a healthy, global business with a passionate community. We have seen accelerated growth over the last year but in the current environment, we must focus on sustainable and efficient growth. Zwift will be more agile and focused on delivering great things for our community.
“The business is healthy and our community is growing. At the same time, growth has not rebounded at a fast enough pace to justify all of the investments that we have been making. As a result, we are taking action to become leaner with a continued focus on delivering great experiences for our community.
“Our priority is to continue delivering great experiences for our community. There is a lot to look forward to over the coming months!”
It has been a bruising couple of years for the bike industry, with redundancies across the board and numerous major brands disappearing from the landscape entirely.
On top of the aforementioned previous layoffs at Zwift, major brands such as Specialized, Strava and Wahoo have cut their workforce in recent times.
> Cycling industry layoffs: Strava and Wahoo cut 15 per cent of workforce
In October, we reported redundancies at British Cycling as the governing body announced membership was down seven per cent.
Around the same time, and following Wiggle Chain Reaction’s sudden descent into administration, 105 job cuts were made by administrators there too. Most recently, Raleigh confirmed that redundancies would be part of a process that would see the iconic British cycling brand move from its Nottingham headquarters during a restructuring instigated by its parent company Accell Group.
7 thoughts on “More redundancies at Zwift as co-CEO resigns, but company insists “business is healthy” and “our community is growing””
If “business is healthy” and
If “business is healthy” and “our community is growing” was really the case then maybe they wouldnt have cut 15% of staff and a Co-CEO either bowing out or MADE to bow out?
I mean it makes sense to cut Kurt Biedler from the group first as he really has no skin in the game compared to Eric Min who is a Co-Founder, Co-CEO and Chairman.
Press releases state Kurt Biedler was only bought on board on 10 Dec 2022. So its pretty obvious he was going to be the first on the chopping block should the business not grow as predicted.
I wouldnt expect a Co-Founder, Co-CEO to take the long walk of shame but I digress. Kurt probably got a nice
participation awardgolden parachute to cushion his fall.I dont care enough about Zwift to dig into the other Co-Founders & Co-CEOs but they are backed by venture capital and probably running low on cash or their investors are starting to demand a return on investment and Zwift isnt growing fast enough for them to deliver on that request.
Even if it is healthy and
Even if it is healthy and growing, it may still not be growing fast enough, or be profitable enough for the VCs to extract RoI that they’re happy enough with. VC-backed and short-lived tend to go hand-in-hand IME.
oh is it ok to ride outside
oh is it ok to ride outside again now? some moments later, zwift tanks, some moments later, OMG ZWIFT IS TANKING, rinse repeat in 12 months time
Zwift is just doing what
Zwift is just doing what every company does when their profits/earnings drop. They cut staffing to protect those profits/earnings. Doesn’t matter if then world is on fire, companies are still expected to match/beat last years earnings.
Tbf most companies work out
Tbf most companies work out what staffing levels meet their demand, you’d hope Zwift had worked that out by now.
clearly they followed the cycling industry herd in thinking the unprecedented growth during lockdowns would be sustained.
stonojnr wrote:
While there was sure to be a post-Covid bursting of the bubble, an online platform like Zwift is not quite the same as a manufacturing company or bike brand – they don’t have to get extra frames and components made and shipped to stores around the world during and after the pandemic then find them piled high in warehouses for months on end.
There have been 3 rounds of redundancies / squeeze so far and I’d estimate there are about 500 people on the payroll now. DC Rainmaker said 11 months ago that the then-new CEO Kurt was responsible for “almost everything day-to-day. This includes operations, engineering, and the product itself”. So who will do that now if Eric Min is in charge of “investor relations, finances, future vision thinking, and the marketing teams”. And what has the latter actually achieved in the meantime if more jobs are now being axed?
From what Iv’e read I can’t see the global cycling retail landscape/marketplace improving for a while so I guess this is a belt-tightening exercise by Zwift. Similar will continue to happen across the industry, from the LBS all the way up to the big brands and suppliers.
things like the Zwift Hub One
things like the Zwift Hub One were an unnecessary distraction, they should have just partnered with Wahoo to begin with, yet they still sell the Cog & Click, so theyve been involved in manufacturing and selling widgets too amongst doing the things that feel more core to their business.
and I dont know how they flex their server farms to cope with loads, but its quite laggy during events sometimes, even though theres probably less than a 3rd of the numbers of users online at one time than 4 years ago.