Peloton offers former employees worst severance bonus ever
Brand thanks 2,800 affected workers with a 12-month complimentary membership to Peloton
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Peloton
There’s no good way to fire staff. But there are worse ways.
When Peloton announced this week it is letting 2,800 employees go, roughly 20 per cent of its workforce, it added one detail that, to many, twists the knife on already rough news.
Co-founder and outgoing CEO Jim Foley announced the impending “separation conversations” as part of a letter detailing his own move from CEO to Executive Chair. There were some good elements. Cash compensation based on job level and tenure and extending health benefits for an unspecified period of time among them.
The cherry, though, is a 12-month subscription to… Peloton.
Yes, Peloton is offering “impacted team members” complimentary monthly membership to the service they were just fired from. Because nothing says “thank you” like offering the chance to log in every day to spend time with the very company that just rendered you unemployed.
Latest twist on a wacky unraveling
It would be easy to say that this latest news fits in more with the SNL “Pelotaunt” skit than real life, if it were not for the companies disastrous year-long slide from early pandemic industry darling. At this point, it seems like just another day at the office for the beleaguered brand.
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Foley’s letter does mention that there will be “a number of other senior-level departures across various areas of the business that you’ll learn of in the coming days.” This opens the door for the silver screen heart issues that plagued fictional characters during their Peloton workouts lately to play out in real life. Because, unlike cardiovascular exercise, sudden stress is a known contributor to cardiovascular disease.
For less senior staff members, a free membership won’t be quite as kind unless they can take home one of Peloton’s extra stock of bikes. The basic Peloton Bike starts at $1,895 (plus $350 delivery fee) while the Bike+ goes for $3,295. Both are sizable investments, especially when you just found out you’re now looking for work.
