Platoonthe exercise equipment manufacturer and creator of online fitness classes, has announced that he is going to fire 15 percent of its workforce (400 people) as CEO, president and chairman Barry McCarthy give up after two years in office.
McCarthy, who was previously CFO of Spotify and Netflix, was forced out of retirement in early 2022 by Peloton co-founder and then-CEO John Foley. resigned as part of a major cost-cutting effort which caused the dismissal of 2,800 employees. Foley remained CEO, but he left the company completely seven months later together with co-founder and legal director Hisao Kushi.
Peloton says it is in the process of finding a successor to McCarthy, with current Peloton president Karen Boone and director Chris Bruzzo serving as interim co-CEOs during the transition.
Platoon went public in 2019, going from an opening day valuation of around $6 billion to a $50 billion company in early 2021. The company was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global pandemic, as the world went into lockdown at home looking for ways to stay healthy through expensive home exercise equipment. including bicycles and treadmills. As the world returned to normal, so did Peloton’s stock, which plummeted to $10 billion in January 2022, a year after its peak.
Today, the company’s market capitalization is just over $1 billion; However, its shares are up nearly 8% in premarket trading as news emerges about Peloton’s cost-cutting measures. In addition to reducing its workforce by 15%, Peloton said it also intends to continue reducing its physical footprint in retail showrooms and double its international growth with a more “targeted and efficient” go-to-market strategy. .
These announcements come as Peloton prepares to announce its third quarter 2024 financial statements later today. In its previous February earnings, Peloton shares fell 24% to a record low. after reporting he continued falling income and gloomy prospects for the coming months.