Image: SCHMOLKE GERHARD
According to the online report on ORF.at, there is simply not enough space at the current location, according to the management. In Lower Austria, woom only retains storage space. From the end of February, 155 employees will be working in Vienna’s 19th district, 7 will remain in Klosterneuburg. After ten years in Klosterneuburg, the spatial limits were reached: “There is simply not enough space: office, warehouse, workshop, development laboratory – we are spread over seven different buildings here. That no longer allows for compact work,” quotes noe.ORF .at the company. In Vienna, all departments are united under one roof. With the new location in the 19th district, the company said it deliberately chose to be close to Klosterneuburg so as not to significantly change the route for employees.
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The boom was followed by staff cuts
After a veritable bicycle boom during the Corona pandemic, woom recently cut staff. The general conditions in the bicycle industry have changed fundamentally in the past few months. “After a boom during the pandemic years and the challenge of meeting high demand despite disrupted supply chains, demand in the industry has normalized to pre-pandemic levels in 2023,” says woom. Many areas have been restructured and adapted to the current situation. As a result, some positions were eliminated. Nevertheless, a “solid result” was achieved in 2023 and demand remained stable compared to last year.
Growth pause and search for subject matter experts
We are currently taking a break from growth and are looking for qualified specialists. According to the company, the company wants to address the topic of children’s bikes worldwide in the same way that it has now done so in German-speaking countries.
One looks at this change with both a laughing and a crying eye: “Klosterneuburg was the perfect place for woom to grow up: Here we developed from a small start-up to an international company,” emphasizes noe.ORF.at . woom was founded by Christian Bezdeka and Marcus Ihlenfeld in a garage in Vienna.
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