Athletic apparel brand Lululemon is laying off about 120 employees who support Lululemon Studio — the business arm that includes the fitness device Mirror.
The news follows an announcement this week that Lululemon has partnered with Peloton in a five-year deal in which Peloton will be Lululemon’s digital fitness content provider. As part of the deal, Lululemon will discontinue selling Mirror by the end of the year.
“As we considered the Peloton partnership, the most difficult decision was the direct impact the evolution will have on approximately 120 of our people who support lululemon Studio today,” a company spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Retail Dive. “True to our company values, we will support those impacted through the transition. We deeply appreciate their contributions and recognize how difficult this announcement is for the team.”
Lululemon did not immediately respond to questions on if it would provide severance or job placement services to employees.
Lululemon’s latest layoffs come after the company let go of 100 employees in the Lululemon Studio business earlier this year. At the time, Lululemon said the decision was part of its strategy to focus on digital content.
The athletics brand acquired Mirror in 2020 for $500 million. The acquisition became a sore spot in Lululemon’s otherwise positive earnings. Through its new partnership with Peloton, Lululemon will also end its digital app-only membership tier and provide customers the option to become a Peloton App One member. Existing All-Access Members will have access to thousands of Peloton classes for the same price they currently pay come November.
The global partnership between the fitness companies also appoints Lululemon as the primary athletic apparel partner for Peloton. Co-branded Lululemon apparel will be available at Peloton retail stores and on Peloton’s website in the U.S, United Kingdom and Canada starting next month.
Peloton did not respond to Retail Dive inquiries at the time of publication regarding any potential layoffs related to the new partnership.
