Nike's FuelBand was one of the first major endeavors into wearable technology by a large company, but the project has apparently been a failure in the athletic company's eyes.
Reports have emerged from CNET that Nike is shuttering its hardware division, and has subsequently laid off a large portion of the staff and discontinued any FuelBand production. They cite a source familiar with the developments, and says the majority of those responsible for the FuelBand fitness tracker will lose their jobs.
Nike's hardware team is made up of around 70 employees--part of the larger 200 team technology division--and CNET is claiming as many as 55 employees would be getting laid off. When reached for comment, Nike hinted that it might be reshuffling some divisions with the language it uses, but would not comment on specifics.
"As a fast-paced, global business we continually align resources with business priorities," Nike spokesman Brian Strong told them in an email. "As our Digital Sport priorities evolve, we expect to make changes within the team, and there will be a small number of layoffs. We do not comment on individual employment matters."
The upcoming FuelBand device planned for the fall has been cancelled, certainly giving credence to the reported layoffs. Nike will keep selling its current product, however.
"The Nike+ FuelBand SE remains an important part of our business. We will continue to improve the Nike+ FuelBand App, launch new Metaluxe colors, and we will sell and support the Nike+ FuelBand SE for the foreseeable future," Strong said in a follow-up comment.
CNET points out that these layoffs were rumored in a post on tech-industry gossip site Secret as long back as a week ago, in a post claiming these employees would lose their jobs due to negligence and wastefulness on the part of Nike executives. It's been a tough time for wearable fitness tech, as the Galaxy Fit is reportedly not up to the task now that it's been released. We'll wait to see if any official word is forthcoming from Nike over the next couple of days.