Specialized announce job cuts totaling eight percent of its workforce

Specialized announced this week that it is laying off eight percent of its workforce in what the company called a “transformation".

The layoffs are across the company globally, including at company-owned retail stores in the U.S. and overseas. Public filings show that the company planned to let go around 120 workers in the U.S.

This latest round of layoffs comes just weeks after Specialized abruptly ended the contracts of most of its brand ambassadors and other contracted workers, causing some social media backlash.

“We are transforming the company around our purpose to Pedal the Planet Forward,” Specialized CEO Scott Maguire said in a press release. “Our priority is to better serve riders, retailers, and communities and to be the best place for our teammates to innovate and grow. The time is now to adapt to the current environment and ultimately led us to make some extremely tough decisions."

The Specialized layoffs also come following rounds of cutbacks across at the cycling industry at firms including Zwift, Wahoo, Strava, Pearl Izumi, The Pro’s Closet and Outside Inc.

As well global prices rising in just about everything, these job losses are seemingly part of industry wide cost cutting following the boom in bike and accessory sales during the Covid-19 pandemic and a subsequent reduction in costs to keep investors happy now that the bike bubble has burst. Unfortunately, there may well be more pain to come.