TomTom lays off staff as it shift focus away from wearables
TomTom has announced it is laying off 136 employees as it shifts focus away from wearables towards mapping and navigation.
The decision was made as a result of disappointing Q2 results, which revealed a 20% year-on-year decline in consumer sales. Released back in July, they showed this was mostly due to poor performance of its sports division which includes fitness trackers and action cameras.
“The wearables market has fallen short of expectations…” said TomTom CEO Harold Goddijn at the time.
“And because of this and because we want to focus on automotive, licensing and telematics businesses, we are reviewing strategic options for our Sports business.”
Headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom currently has a 4,700 strong team and presence in over 40 countries. Of the 136 rolls made redundant, 57 will be on its home turf in the Netherlands, while the remaining positions will be cut from offices in the US and Taiwan. A number of key figures left in an earlier round of firings back in December.
Essential reading: TomTom’s fitness tracker range detailed in full
Founded in 1991, the Dutch outfit produces navigation and mapping products. It sells action cameras, fleet management systems and location-based products. The company is perhaps best known for its GPS software and products.
TomTom noted in a short statement that it will continue to sell consumer sports products, and support its Sports customers. Its fitness tracker/smartwatch devices include the popular Spark 3 range and the Touch fitness tracker.
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