Rad January funding or close

If you need any replacement parts or extra battery, it might be a good time to get your order in. Rad is telling its employees that without new funding, they will close in January:
Rad Power Bikes has informed its employees that it will shut down in January if it is unable to find new funding or get acquired, according to an internal staff email viewed by TechCrunch.

The company’s leadership is “still fighting to find ways to continue,” and “the cessation of Rad’s operations is not a forgone conclusion,” according to the email, which was sent by Rad Power’s “people team.” Rad Power employees were told there had been a “very promising” option to keep the company alive that “appeared to be likely to close,” but the deal — which was not specified in the email — “did not come to fruition.”


“Rad is nothing without its people and wants to ensure that all employees are taken care of and provided for to the fullest extent feasible. Executive leaders are hopeful that a viable solution will be found to ensure that Rad team members remain gainfully employed for the foreseeable future. However, to be fully transparent, despite our collective efforts, it is possible that this may not happen, and Rad may be forced to cease operations,” the email reads. GeekWire was first to report the contents of the email.

Seattle-based Rad Power has gone through multiple rounds of layoffs over the last few years coming out of the pandemic. While the early pandemic days were a boon to micromobility companies like Rad Power, a “sudden drop in consumer demand” left the company saddled with excess inventory, according to the email viewed by TechCrunch. “Rad continues to face significant financial challenges, including in the form of tariffs and the macroeconomic landscape.”


“At this time, Rad’s leadership is focused on supporting our employees, serving our Rad Riders, and giving Rad the best chance for longevity,” a spokesperson for the company said.

 
As the owner of a new Radster Trail, I sure hope they can turn things around. They seem to be at that awkward stage... their older models seem to be peceived as lower end and somewhat crude (and limited to class 2), while their new Radster models are class 3 and clearly a step up in sophistication (and price). But it's hard to play both ends.

I'm tempted to order a spare battery, as the Radster's semi integrated battery (which really is nice) isn't going to be easy to match. But the advance warning of trouble is interesting; one wonders if they're hoping for a bump in income with "just in case" spare parts sales. But OTOH, the news will surely hurt new bike sales.
 
sad to hear that, we have a rad mission original bike and absolutely love it! no idea how many miles since the display is simple but would guess 2K miles or so in 3 years. i don't think this will be the last e-bike company fold unfortunately. ive been pleasantly surprised with how good both my rad and aventon have lasted. they are both almost 4 years old and ride just like the day i bought them with minimal money spent on maintenance over the years.
 
No, this is a rare example of management being open and honest with employees.
It is a legal requirement here. The letter to employees was open, but bear in mind that it was crafted knowing that the legally required WARN notice is a matter of public record here and would be in the news by the end if the weekend.
 
It is a legal requirement here. The letter to employees was open, but bear in mind that it was crafted knowing that the legally required WARN notice is a matter of public record here and would be in the news by the end if the weekend.
Hey, BlackHand, I was just wondering if you’re saying that the employee letter doesn’t have to be open to the public… I’m thinking about when Juiced Bikes closed down a little over a year ago… I don’t remember any advance warning, although it’s always possible that employees knew in advance but didn’t disclose the shutdown. Of course, Juiced was in San Diego, not Seattle, but I would’ve thought that legal requirements would be similar (if not stricter) in California vs. WA…

Just curious; maybe you know.
 
Hey, BlackHand, I was just wondering if you’re saying that the employee letter doesn’t have to be open to the public… I’m thinking about when Juiced Bikes closed down a little over a year ago… I don’t remember any advance warning, although it’s always possible that employees knew in advance but didn’t disclose the shutdown. Of course, Juiced was in San Diego, not Seattle, but I would’ve thought that legal requirements would be similar (if not stricter) in California vs. WA…

Just curious; maybe you know.
I can't speak to California's WARN laws, but WA's version just took effect this past July and is for closures/layoffs >50.

It looks like notifying employees is also a requirement in addition to notifying the state and the city. I don't think the letter to employees is public record, but such things are invariably leaked.
 
Sad, but no surprise here. The whole industry is hurting. Manufacturers thought the Covid boom would last forever, continuing after Covid was obviously ending, so everybody kept ordering bikes just knowing they could unload everything they could squeeze out of whoever actually builds their bikes. Typical greed.

I’m off for the winter because there isn’t enough work at our shop for the entire team. Those left, the ones that need the work, are down to 30 hour weeks.
 
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