The e-bike pioneer is clearing land and shutting down production. The majority of employees are affected.
It is a hard blow for the employees: the Swiss e-bike pioneer Flyer does not want to produce its bikes in Huttwil BE in the future. The company informed its employees on Wednesday.
The measure is a response to the difficult market situation in the bicycle industry, writes the two-wheeler purchasing cooperative ZEG. She has owned Flyer AG since 2017.
Employees are shocked, the public is shocked
It is currently unclear how many of the 170 positions will be eliminated. The company writes that “a large part of the workforce” is affected. According to an internal source, there will be around 155 jobs.
We don’t know what will happen next.
The company has started a consultation process. The management regrets the current development “extremely” at the time of writing.
Legend:
Proud of “Swiss”: In the past, Flyer has always emphasized that it wants to stick to production in Switzerland.
SRF/Marielle Gygax
After the bad news, the employees are very much in shock. «We don’t know what will happen after that. We sit between a chair and a bench.” They can’t say anything about that evening in front of the flyer building, they are at a loss for words.
“We are completely shocked,” says mayor Walter Rohrbach. The public only found out about the plans from the media. “We are disappointed.” Flyer is the flagship of the Huttwil business site. “Now we’re losing jobs again, that’s tragic.”
Second restructuring within a short period of time
It wasn’t until the fall of last year that Flyer had to slim down. The company laid off a quarter of its employees. Even back then, the people responsible justified this step with the “difficult market situation” in the entire industry.
Legend:
Electric bikes from Flyer: Orders went through the roof during the pandemic. The demand has now fallen. This applies to the entire e-bike industry.
Keystone/Bally Gate
The e-bike industry is in turmoil. The demand for electric bikes has been increasing for many years. During the pandemic, orders went through the roof: 220,000 new e-bikes were sold in Switzerland in 2022 – a record. Since then, demand has been declining.
“Stay with your position,” was said recently
Like many other suppliers, Flyer is also struggling with full warehouses. “We were able to reduce inventories, but they are still at too high a level,” managing director Andreas Kessler told several media outlets just a few weeks ago. It will take some time until the situation normalizes.
Legend:
Flyer is an important employer in the region. The company currently has approximately 170 employees.
SRF/Adrian Müller
Despite Huttwil’s difficulties, those responsible have repeatedly stated that they do not want to give up the site. Moving production abroad? This concern is unfounded. “The Swiss location is underway,” Andreas Kessler told various media recently.
Now things have turned out different. The final decision on job cuts will be made in a few weeks. The advertisement management wants to support the employees who are affected by a social plan.
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Title: Flyer Faces New Challenges Amid Declining Demand
A recent announcement has left Flyer employees in shock as the company begins a consultation process regarding potential layoffs. The management expressed their regret over the situation, acknowledging the difficult market environment that necessitates these changes.
The community is feeling the impact, with local officials expressing disappointment over the loss of jobs in what they considered a flagship business. This restructuring comes on the heels of another significant reduction just last fall, where a quarter of the workforce was laid off due to similar market pressures.
The e-bike industry is currently experiencing a downturn after a boom during the pandemic, where sales reached record highs. Despite efforts to reduce inventory levels, the managing director indicated that full warehouses continue to pose a challenge, suggesting that normalization will take time.
As the industry adapts to changing demands, the future remains uncertain for Flyer and its employees.
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