Roomba maker iRobot lays off 105 employees, or 16% of its workforce

iRobot , the manufacturer of the vacuuming robot Roomba, has announced that it will lay off 105 employees, or 16% of its total workforce.

irbt-20241105
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1159167/000115916724000077/irbt-20241105.htm

iRobot lays off another 105 employees | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/06/irobot-lays-off-another-105-employees/

iRobot has filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealing that the company plans to cut 105 jobs, or 16% of its global workforce, as of September 28, 2024, as part of its restructuring plans.

In addition, iRobot agreed to a sale agreement to Amazon for approximately $1.7 billion (approximately 262 billion yen) in August 2022.

Amazon to acquire iRobot, developer of robot vacuum cleaner 'Roomba' for approximately 230 billion yen - GIGAZINE

However, EU regulators put a hold on the acquisition due to suspected antitrust violations. Amazon 's acquisition of iRobot was subsequently cancelled due to failure to obtain approval from EU regulators . Immediately after the deal collapsed, iRobot laid off 350 employees, equivalent to 31% of its total workforce, in early 2024. Following the collapse of the deal, iRobot will receive a termination fee of $94 million (approximately 14.5 billion yen) from Amazon.

Amazon cancels iRobot acquisition, iRobot lays off 31% of employees & CEO resigns - GIGAZINE

During iRobot's third-quarter 2024 earnings call, CEO Gary Cohen said of the job cuts, 'While difficult, these cuts will fundamentally change how we work with our partners to efficiently develop and build robots. Our new operating model will enable us to significantly increase new product introductions while using less than half our internal resources and at roughly one-third the costs.'

In addition, iRobot's sales in the third quarter of 2024 (July to September) increased 3.9% year-on-year to $193.4 million (approximately 30 billion yen), and GAAP operating expenses decreased 49% year-on-year to $55.1 million (approximately 8.5 billion yen), clearly showing the effect of the workforce reduction.

iRobot Reports Third-Quarter 2024 Financial Results | iRobot Corporation
https://investor.irobot.com/news-releases/news-release-details/irobot-reports-third-quarter-2024-financial-results

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