Peloton just pulled the plug on 11 percent of its workforce, hitting engineering teams hardest just months after betting big on AI-powered fitness hardware. The company confirmed Friday it's cutting staff "mostly" from technology and enterprise roles, according to Bloomberg, in its second major reduction since August 2025. The timing exposes a brutal reality for consumer hardware companies - you can't AI your way out of a post-pandemic reckoning.
Peloton is cutting the people who built its future. The fitness company confirmed Friday it's laying off roughly 11 percent of its workforce, with engineers working on technology and enterprise efforts bearing the brunt of the reductions, Bloomberg reports. The move comes just three months after the company unveiled its most ambitious product refresh in years - the AI-powered Cross Training Series featuring Peloton IQ.
The timing isn't coincidental. It's desperate. Peloton launched the new Bike, Bike Plus, Tread, Tread Plus, and Row Plus with real-time form feedback, workout analysis, and AI-generated routines last October, positioning the hardware as its path back to growth. But according to Bloomberg's earlier reporting, those AI-equipped machines saw sluggish initial sales - and now the engineers who developed that technology are getting pink slips.
This is Peloton's second significant workforce cut in six months. Last August, the company laid off 6 percent of staff and warned investors to expect more reductions throughout 2026. The goal: slash at least $100 million in annual spending by the end of the fiscal year. Friday's announcement suggests the company is ahead of schedule on those cuts, but way behind on finding a sustainable business model.
