QBP’s latest layoffs highlight strain of repeated industry cuts

February 12, 2026

January 2026 marked the fifth round of staff cuts in six years at Quality Bicycle Products (QBP), North America’s largest cycling distributor. This time, the layoffs were small in size but focused: QBP eliminated eight roles as part of a restructuring inside its product division – a tiny fraction of its overall headcount but nearly 20 percent of that specific division.

The cut happened amongst wider industry turmoil, where companies are still working through the long tail of the pandemic boom-and-bust cycle, and in which staff cuts have, across the board, become ever more common. escape collective