Canyon job cuts: What role does the investor play? Can IG Metall save jobs?

The announced job cuts at Canyon continue to cause unrest. Now there has been a works meeting in Koblenz with record attendance. At a press conference, the works council and IG Metall gave an insight into the state of negotiations and the mood among the workforce. Confidence in Roman Arnold seems unbroken - the role of the majority shareholder is unclear. The job cuts are expected to affect around 20 per cent of the total workforce, mainly at the Koblenz site.

At the press conference in Koblenz, 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 as Executive Chairman commented on the plans. He promised to look seriously for solutions together with the works council. Open-ended talks were agreed in February. Robert Brückner, Chairman of the Works Council at Canyon, described the mood at the works meeting at a press conference the following day as normal: "The message was: we can do it."

However, Markus Friedel, IG Metall works supervisor at Canyon, revealed that the employees were not completely unprepared for the bad news: "Rumours had been circulating 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 precisely 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 has 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," says Friedel.

This makes it all the more important 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. In the Koblenz area alone, there are six different Canyon locations - 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 will therefore be 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 the 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 said.

The trade union emphasises that, despite the commitment to the Koblenz site from Roman Arnold, founder and current Executive Chairman of CanyonThe company is aware that one in four jobs would be lost in the region in particular if the announced job cuts were to be implemented.

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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.