Peloton Gets Roasted For Offering A Free Membership To The 2,800 People It Unceremoniously Laid Off

• Peloton is catching heat over a particular aspect of the severance package it’s offering to the 2,800 people it laid off on Tuesday
• The compensation given to former employees includes a 12-month subscription to the company’s fitness program, which plenty of people view as a slap in the face
• Read more about the embattled corporation here

In 2019, Peloton found itself dealing with a public relations migraine courtesy of the fairly misguided commercial it released in an attempt to drum up sales during the holiday season that inadvertently positioned its exercise bike as the perfect way to passively aggressively let your wife know you think she could lose some weight.

However, a few months later, the company experienced a drastic reversal of fortunes courtesy of the crisis that forced gyms around the world to suddenly shutter and resulted in the “COVID 19” becoming the new “Freshman 15,” which led to a dramatic spike in demand for its equipment.

Peloton’s stock experienced a similarly meteoric rise, and it was sitting at around $155 per share at this time last year. Unfortunately, it’s been all downhill from there, as the company has faced an increasing amount of resistance and seen plenty of investors hit the emergency brake in the wake of some concerning reports about its long-term viability.

On Tuesday, Peloton confirmed the writing that’s been on the wall for a while when it revealed John Foley would be stepping down as CEO and announced a wave of layoffs that will impact 2,800 corporate employees. It didn’t take long for more details to trickle out—including the severance package being offered to the people being let go, which includes one “perk” that’s generated a fresh wave of backlash: a complimentary 12-month Peloton fitness membership.

 

If you’re not familiar with Peloton’s model, the company charges users $39 a month for the “All Access” package required to access its catalog of live and on-demand classes via the screen mounted on its bikes (it also includes a variety of guided stretches, yoga sessions, and other workouts).

Now, I can’t imagine the impacted employees who own a bike are thrilled about having a carbon steel monument to their former employer taking up space in their home. With that said, I also assume the vast majority of them would at least appreciate not having to shell out over $450 to use it over the course of the next year.

However, that didn’t stop plenty of people from dragging Peloton over what was widely interpreted as a slap in the face.

https://twitter.com/rbe_expert/status/1491099366656217092

Here’s to hoping the new CEO has a grasp of the definition of “optics.”