Eastern European bike makers feel the pinch

Kross of Poland, one of Europe’s major bicycle manufacturers, is to lay off 100 out of 1,000 employees.

Malgorzata Nowak, marketing director, said: “Lower demand and the [credit] crisis made the management decide to reduce production costs."

Nowak told pb.pl: "We have limited the number of the least profitable contracts and we have cut capacity."

Other Polish bike firms are also downsizing.

Marian Andrzejewski, owner of Small Bikeland, producer of GTX Bikes, said:

“We are wondering whether to stop bike production altogether."

Andrzej Gajewski from Wheeler Poland said

“This year will show who is going to survive. The reason is US dollar exchange rate and higher prices in Chinese plants. Despite the crisis, bike prices won’t drop.”