Cycling industry layoffs: Strava and Wahoo cut 15% of workforce

It appears the layoffs that have spread across tech this year have reached the cycling industry, with Strava and Wahoo letting go around 15 per cent of their workforces.

According to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, Strava — the ride-tracking app which claims to have the world's largest sports community of more than 100 million users — has let go at least 40 employees, including product designers and product managers.

One former employee told the cycling industry news website that 14 per cent of staff had been let go, while another said 15 per cent.

Strava has not made a public statement about the layoffs and declined to comment when approached by road.cc. The company has offices in Bristol, Dublin, San Francisco and Denver, with more than 400 employees worldwide, and the news comes as it today released the 2022 edition of its Year In Sport data report.

Meanwhile, respected cycling journalist Caley Fretz, who himself was made redundant by US publishing giant Outside last month, was the first to report there has been a round of layoffs at Wahoo too, with "15 per cent or more" let go.

"The vibes are bad in many parts of the bike industry," Fretz told his Twitter followers.

Responding to a request for comment from road.cc, Wahoo confirmed the news:

Since its founding in 2009, Wahoo Fitness has experienced exponential growth through constant innovation and reinvention – all with the goal of 'building the better athlete in all of us'. However, throughout 2022, the sports technology category – like many others, has been adversely affected by the impacts of Covid and the global economic downturn.

On Thursday 1st December 2022, Wahoo announced a restructuring of its organisation to support the long-term growth of its global business. By making these difficult decisions in such challenging times – Wahoo can ensure it maintains sharp focus on the innovative products and services that have driven it to the market leading position it owns, in almost every category it operates in.

The needs of our athletes are constantly evolving and our approach to providing solutions needs to do the same.

In 2023, Wahoo will launch multiple new exciting hardware additions to its acclaimed eco-system, plus launch significant software updates for existing hardware products to continue to enhance the consumer's experience and develop more integration/ functionality for Wahoo X.

We greatly value the contributions of our talented colleagues who have been affected by these changes and are committed to supporting them through this period.

Last month Wahoo hit back at Zipp for announcing using the Kickr Rollr indoor trainer would void the warranty on any of its wheels.

> Wahoo hits back at Zipp's warranty position: testing shows Kickr Rollr causes no damage to wheels, tyres or frame

Independent testing backed Wahoo's contention that its product does not harm other equipment. The Kickr Rollr clamps the bike's front wheel in place, but Wahoo insists it causes no structural or cosmetic impact to the frame, wheels or tyres even in extreme test conditions.

Wahoo said the Kickr Rollr was "put through vigorous fatigue tests to simulate the highest degree of reasonable use".

"The test concluded that there was no structural or cosmetic impact to the frame, wheels or tyres resulting from the Kickr Rollr use even under these extreme test conditions," the company said.