Fitbit lays off 110 employees after disappointing quarterly figures

Fitness wearable maker Fitbit is laying off 6% of its workforce after disappointing fourth-quarter 2016 sales. That equates to 110 employees. In the past year, Fitbit itself has acquired three more companies.

Fitbit made a turnover of 572 to 580 million euros in quarter 4, while it had expressed an expectation of turnover between 725 and 750 million euros. In response to the announcement, Fitbit shares fell 20 percent in value. The reorganization is expected to cost $4 million. The layoffs are likely to fall at the San Francisco headquarters.

CEO James Park and CTO Eric Friedman also plan to cut their salary to a dollar for 2017. According to Bloomberg, their salaries in 2015 totaled around $800,000.

In 2016 and 2017, Fitbit expanded by acquiring several competitors in the smart device market. That started with Coin in May 2016. That company was working on smart payment products, such as a credit card-shaped device that contains payment details from multiple debit cards for convenient contactless payments. In December, Fitbit acquired smartwatch maker Pebble and Vector followed in January of this year.