Seattle-based e-bike company Rad Power Bikes is closing its European operations.
The company on Wednesday confirmed it will no longer sell its e-bikes in the European Union or the United Kingdom starting next year. It is laying off roughly 40 employees by the end of the year as part of the move.
"It has become apparent that in order to sustain our competitive edge as North America’s largest e-bike brand and achieve long-term success, we must focus our resources and efforts on growing our business in the North American market," a company spokesperson said in a statement to the Business Journal. "We are confident this change will allow us to set the standard for the ebike revolution in North America and continue to have a laser focus on safety, reliability, and innovating to provide quality products for our customers.”
Rad Power Bikes first launched an office in Europe six years ago. The company has now gone through five rounds of layoffs since April 2022, when it laid off about 100 workers as it shuttered its mobile services arm. In July 2022, the company laid off 63 workers, citing an uncertain economic outlook and increased operating costs. The company cut an unspecified number of jobs in December of last year and again in April.
In November, company founder Mike Radenbaugh stepped out of the CEO role and became chairman. The company replaced him with Phil Molyneux, a former president and chief operating officer at Sony Electronics. Molyneux had also served as a regional president at Dyson, the maker of vacuum cleaners, hair dryers and air purifiers.
Radenbaugh founded Rad Power Bikes in 2007. The company makes a variety of e-bikes and says on its website it has over 599,000 riders. It raised more than $300 million across two funding rounds in 2021, before the layoffs began. The company has a partnership with Domino's to supply delivery workers with e-bikes.
Rad Power is also facing a wrongful death lawsuit from the parents of a 12-year-old girl who died after being thrown from one of the company's bikes in 2021.
