Detroit Bikes forced to make layoffs as winter slowdown bites

North American bicycle manufacturer Detroit Bikes has been forced to reduce staff down to just 15 from a summer peak of around 50, reports the Calgary Herald.

Pointing to a winter slowdown, owner Zak Pashak said an influx of orders, including a bike rental production deal with Motivate, had seen staff requirements surge, but that as of last week demand had slowed down to the point where several notices were handed out.

Detroit bikes were in Summer hitting a peak capacity of production of 8,000 bikes for the year, with the aforementioned rental deal said to be boosting that figure to 15,000.

However, Pashak told the Herald: “You can’t pay people if you don’t have bikes to make. It’s a business driven by sales.”

It is reportedly the deal with Motivate that is said to be slowing the company’s progress down, but Pashak added that for 2017 he has “a few big fish on the hook – i’m excited going into 2017,” adding “We have the capacity to do 50,000 bikes and that would see us probably at 100 to 150 staff.”

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