Fitness company Peloton lays off 780 employees, shuts stores

US exercise equipment and media company Peloton has laid off roughly 780 employees, shut down several stores and hiked prices on bikes and treadmills.

In order to rebalance its e-commerce and retail mix to drive efficiencies, the company said it will reduce retail presence across North America, resulting in "a significant and aggressive reduction of Peloton's retail footprint".

"These workforce shifts result in the departure of 784 employees from the company," Peloton said on Friday.

Following last month's exit from owned-manufacturing in Taiwan, the company is now restructuring final mile delivery capabilities by expanding our work with our third party logistics (3PLs) providers.

"As a result, we are eliminating our North American Field Ops warehouses, resulting in a significant reduction in our delivery workforce teams," said Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy in a memo to employees.

"Unfortunately, this means a number of team members will be departing the company. We know changes of this nature are never easy," the CEO added.

The company said that while it was reducing its workforce in certain areas of the business, "we continue to fill roles on key teams to drive the business forward".

The company, however, didn't specify how many of its 86 retail locations will be shut down.

The company is exiting last-mile logistics and shift delivery work to third-party providers.

The company, which was rumoured to be acquired by Amazon earlier this year, also increased the price of the Peloton Bike+ by $500 to $2,495 and Tread by $800 to $3,495 in the US.

"The shift of our final mile delivery to 3PLs will reduce our per-product delivery costs by up to 50 per cent and will enable us to meet our delivery commitments in the most cost-efficient way possible," said McCarthy.