At a press conference, representatives of IG Metall and the Chairman of the Works Council at Canyon gave an insight into the company's situation. They emphasised that the decision to cut 320 jobs had not yet been made and reported on the Canyon works meeting. The IG Metall had already announced "To develop alternatives to redundancies and prospects for the employees affected". The staff meeting took place in the Rhein-Mosel-Halle in Koblenz on 28 January. At the meeting, the works council provided information on the next steps and Roman Arnold, Executive Chairman, commented on the plans. He promised to work with the works council to find serious solutions. Open-ended talks were agreed in February. Robert Brückner, Chairman of the Works Council at Canyon, described the mood at the works meeting as normal at a press conference the following day: "The message was: we can do this." However, Markus Friedel, IG Metall works supervisor at Canyon, revealed that the employees were not completely unprepared for the bad news: "There had been rumours for some time". The annual report of majority owner Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) last year had already raised eyebrows. It announced plans to increase efficiency.
What does the Canyon investor want?
From the union's point of view, this is where the biggest questions arise: "We need to understand the role of GBL - whether there is a catalogue of demands from GBL," explained Ali Yener, First Authorised Representative of IG Metall Koblenz. In contrast to Arnold, GBL had gone into hiding. There is still trust in Roman Arnold, who is said to have found the move difficult: "I believe him as a person - it's incredibly difficult for him," said Friedel. This makes it all the more important now to find out what room for manoeuvre Arnold has. Friedel emphasised that the trade union and works council want to find solutions together with the management, "in the interests of the site and competitiveness." In concrete terms, this means that Canyon has handed over documents to the works council to justify the move. This has initiated a process in which a joint decision is to be made on how to proceed. Employees are also to be explicitly involved in this process. "The aim is for Canyon to regain its former strength," was Yener's message.
Where are jobs being cut?
It is still unclear exactly in which areas the management intends to make job cuts. There are six different Canyon sites in the Koblenz area alone - including the headquarters. The works council and trade union are aware that a process that takes too long could also damage the brand and leave employees on pins and needles. The next step is therefore to draw up a timetable with the management. According to Arnold, redundancies for operational reasons should be avoided as far as possible. As the employee structure at Canyon is very young, severance packages are an obvious alternative.
Canyon had announced dismantling
On 20 January, the bicycle manufacturer Canyon issued its employees with a massive Job cuts announced. Up to 320 jobs, or around 20 per cent of the total workforce, are to be cut. The majority of the jobs are to be cut at the main site in Koblenz. A smaller proportion of the cuts will affect the Amsterdam site, where 60 people currently work. Canyon cites the ongoing crisis in the bicycle industry as the reason for this drastic step. "The bicycle industry is in a phase of consolidation, while global factors such as US tariffs, geopolitical tensions and subdued economic forecasts are creating additional challenges," the company stated as its reasoning. The trade union emphasises that despite the commitment of Roman Arnold, founder and current Executive Chairman of Canyon, to the Koblenz site, one in four jobs in the region in particular is to be lost.
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Economic situation of Canyon
Canyon's economic situation had deteriorated significantly in recent years. The majority of the company has been held by the Belgian investment holding Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) since 2020. The poor figures for Canyon have already become known through GBL's publications. The value of the Canyon shareholding fell from 460 million to 261 million euros, prompting the investor GBL to write down its stake by almost 200 million euros.
In 2024, Canyon reported a turnover of 792 million euros and a double-digit loss. In the first three quarters of 2025, turnover fell again and further losses were recorded. In addition to the difficult market environment, GBL's annual report for the 2024 financial year also explicitly mentions quality problems in the e-bike sector. Sales of certain models had to be temporarily suspended due to a recall.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
